


Bound Souls

by Amymel86



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: F/M, Jon and Sansa do not know each other, Jonsa Gift Exchange, Modern AU, Soulmates AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-29
Updated: 2017-10-10
Packaged: 2019-01-06 02:08:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 28,794
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12201753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amymel86/pseuds/Amymel86
Summary: Having a 'Bound Soul' is a rare condition and it's not an easy one to live with - what with the cases of Bound Souls actually finding each other being few and far between.This is my fic for the Jonsa Gift exchange happening over on tumblr.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! before you all groan and say "Amy! Why are you starting another multichapter when you have 13 WIPs?!?!?" Chill! This lil bad boy is pretty much FINISHED, bar the very last 2 chapters! I'll post what I have daily from today.
> 
> This fic was written for the Jonsa Exchange on tumblr - my gift is for @lydiia-martins :-)

## Sansa Stark, Age 7

“Bound Souls are rare, but not unheard of Mrs Stark, it seems that your daughter is....afflicted with the condition.”

A seven year old Sansa swivelled her head from between the Dr Luwin and her mother.

“Afflicted? Condition?....Is...Is there a cure?” Mrs Stark asked, her eyes beginning to glimmer with tears that she held back with a sniff.

“Well, ‘afflicted’ might be too harsh a word for me to have used” the elderly doctor paused to give Sansa a kind smile “Sansa will be able to grow in to a normal, healthy young woman and-”

“Apart from the blackouts” Sansa’s mother interrupted.

Dr Luwin inclined his head, his understanding eyes closing momentarily. “yes, apart from the blackouts.”

“How often will they happen?”

“It might be best if you read this, Mrs Stark” Dr Luwin opened his filing cabinet with a metalic clatter. After rifling around for a time, he produced a small leaflet and handed it to Mrs Stark. “Everything you might want to know should be in there.”

 

  


 

 

 

* * *

 

## Jon Snow, Age 8

Jon awoke beneath the playground climbing equipment. Red and yellow metal bars coming into view as he groaned at the sting on his cheek and knee. It had happened again - a blackout. This time she had been upset with another little girl - one that seemed short, with messy brown hair and expressive grey eyes. The girl had come into his Bound Soul’s bedroom and left muddy hand-prints all over the pink polka-dot bedsheets and then proceeded to run off with one of her dolls.

Jon brought his hand up to his cheek, his fingers coming away red. He hated dolls. He hated his Bound Soul.

“Did it happen again?” Sam puffed, his face going red from where he’d run over to Jon from the see-saw, his younger brother Dickon still sat on the piece of equipment looking bewildered.

“Shhhh!” Jon hissed as other children gathered round to see the commotion. “I just lost my grip is all” he grumbled, rising to his feet and brushing his clothing down. There was a large scrape on his knee that will no doubt make a good scab tomorrow. He should probably let his Mum look at it though.

“Did you see her again?” Sam whispered as they began to walk back to Dickon together. Sam was the only one of his friends that he’s told about this Bound Soul thing. He had been with him when he’d had his very first blackout a year ago - when he had first saw her, practising her skipping. 

“I wish I had a Bound Soul” his friend muttered to the floor when Jon refused to answer.

“No you don’t. It’s stupid and annoying, and you never know when you’re gonna collapse” Jon huffed. Sam nodded.

His friend was silently contemplating something whilst they walked. “But it would be like having a friend linked with you all your life.”

Jon shook his head. “She’s an annoying girl.”

“I’m sure she’s not that bad! And by the time you get to meet her, you’ll already know loads of stuff about her....and she’ll know loads of stuff about you.”

Jon seated himself behind Dickon on the see-saw, whilst Sam sat at the other end. “I’ll probably never get to meet her. Most people don’t.”

“Samwell! Dickon! Jon!” Sam’s mother called “Come on boys! That’s enough time in the park - let’s get Jon home!”

Jon shoved his hands in his short pockets and kicked at a couple of pebbles as he made his way to Mrs Tarly’s family car. His friend’s words rolling around in his head. He didn’t like the sound of his Bound Soul knowing stuff about him. How long had she had the blackouts too? Had they even started for her? When was it that she was staring through his eyes? Seeing what he sees? Irritation rose in his stomach again, he didn’t want to share his experiences with anyone, let alone a complete stranger.

 

* * *

 

## Sansa Stark, Age 12

“So how often does it happen? Margaery asked, face full curiosity as she sat cross-legged on Sansa’s bed, surrounded by magazines and a bag of strawberry laces.

“It’s not as simple as that” Sansa answered, swiping a lace from her friend. “I only had two blackouts for the whole of last year, but I’ve had five so far this month. You just can’t predict it” she shrugged, chewing on the sweet treat.

Maraery rearranged her legs to be kneeling, looking like she was positively bubbling over with curiosity. “And what do you see?”

Sansa fixed her eyes to the ceiling of her bedroom, trying to recount her last few blackouts. “Well sometimes they are just flashes. One time all I saw was him reaching for a piece of pizza.” Margaery raised her brows, urging her friend to continue. “Sometimes I blackout for longer - maybe a couple of minutes at a time. He seems to play a lot of video games.”

“Are you sure it’s a boy? Your soul could be bound to a girl.” the brunette asked, stealing the lace back from her friend.

“Yeah, I’m sure...he....sounds like a boy when he talks” Sansa said, a blush creeping up her neck at the memory of when she’d blacked out to a vision of standing in front of the toilet and unzipping a fly. Luckily, her bound soul had looked up when he’d pulled his  _‘thing’_  out to pee so she didn’t see anything. Sansa couldn’t seem to look anyone in the eye once she came round from that one. 

“Do you know anything about him?”

Sansa shook her head, her high ponytail dancing behind her. “Not really. You have to really concentrate to hear what anyone is saying sometimes. It’s sort of muffled....I think his name is short...like ‘Tom’ or something like that.” Sansa took another strawberry lace from the bag, gripping it with her teeth before winding it around her fingers and yanking a bite free. “He has a Mum I think...but I haven’t seen any men. There’s a fat boy that he hangs out with a lot - he’s either his friend or a brother?” Sansa said with a shrug.

“A Bound Soul” Margaery sighed, her eyes going glassy as she stared at nothing at all. “How romantic.”

Sansa gave her friend a quick, glimmer of a smile before it faded - not that Margaery was paying any attention anyway. She remembered the statistics she’d read online - only 30% of Bound Souls ever get to connect. Meeting each other is rare and ‘sufferers’ of the condition should prepare to be ‘unpaired’ indefinitely.

_He could live half way around the world._

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More awkward teen moments for Jon and Sansa :-)

## Jon Snow, Aged 14

It was a dumb theory that his Mum had read somewhere on one of her ‘hippy’ websites, but Jon was not about to contradict her when it meant that they would be getting a dog. He’d always wanted one and when his Mum said that some dogs could sense when Bound Souls are about to suffer a blackout, well, he just went with it.

“I just want you to be able to have some independence love” his Mum had said “I can’t be with you all the time and that time that you collapsed while we were crossing the road really scared me.”

Jon knew what she was talking about. He’d been helping his Mum with carrying the grocery shopping one minute, and then the next he was in a store, looking at a multicoloured row of nail varnishes.

 _“I’ve only got enough money to get two. I think I’m gonna get ‘Weirwood Red’ and ‘Snow Pearl’”_ , he had heard his Bound Soul say in a muffled voice. 

It was only a short flash of an ‘insight’, but once he’d come to, there were cans of food and oranges scattered all across the road whilst his Mum was desperately trying to stop the traffic. He hated having a Bound Soul.

“I like this one” he said as the little white ball of fluff continued to lick his hand and playfully nip at his fingers.

“The runt?” the man whose German Shepherd bitch had welped the pups “you sure lad?”

Jon looked from the man, to his Mum and back to puppy, his red eyes almost pleading as he whined and placed a paw on Jon’s knee where he was knelt on the floor. Jon smiled down at him before the pup gave a tiny little yelp and jumped up to sniff and lick at Jon’s temple with his paws braced on his chest. “Yes” Jon laughed “can we have him Mum?”

* * *

## Sansa Stark, Aged 13

Her Bound Soul was squirming and laughing as she saw an excitable little white pup jump up to lap at his face. She felt like giggling herself, but of course she couldn’t - she was having a blackout. 

“Yes” she heard him laugh “can we have him Mum?”

Her Bound Soul looked up at the woman she’d seen before.

_So she IS his Mother._

“Alright Jon, we can have him” the woman smiled back. “What are you going to call him?”

_Jon?! Not Tom!_

Her Bound Soul managed to subdue the puppy by holding him in place by the shoulders. A little white tail continued to wag furiously as the dog clearly wasn’t finished with his attentions with her Bound Soul’s face.

“Ummm…”

 _He’s a cute little thing, as white as a ghost_ , Sansa thought.

“Ghost” she heard Jon proclaim, clear as day.

Sansa gasped as she awoke, she was on the floor of her bedroom, near her desk.

_I could hear him clearly!….Jon…..his name is Jon!_

She used her stool to heave herself up off of the plush cream carpet. Sansa stared unseeing at the jumble of math homework before her. She had been working on it before the blackout. Shaking her head, she opened the desk drawer and brought out her journal and plucked her glittery pink pencil with the fluff on top from her pen pot. Jotting down the date, Sansa began to recount the details of her most recent ‘Blackout Insight’.

* * *

## Jon Snow, Aged 15

Ghost let out an unexpected bark and started pawing at Jon’s calf where he stood making himself an after school snack.

_That’s odd._

“Down boy” he ordered in the sternest voice he could muster, but the dog took no notice. “Ghost, stop.”

The next thing he knew, the world turned on it’s axis and everything went black, he distantly heard his plate smash on the tiled kitchen floor.

Jon groaned internally when his vision began to clear. He saw a desk, some open books, and a pink fluffy pencil. He hoped that this would be a short blackout.

His Bound Soul was focused on the numbers in a squared workbook. She tapped her pencil on the paper near to an equation. She was wearing a distracting shimmery white nail varnish.

 _Snow Pearl_ , Jon thought.

He watched as she hesitantly scratched out an answer.

_That’s wrong. You forgot to carry the seven._

As soon as his thoughts manifested, his Bound Soul reached for a little heart shaped eraser and began scrubbing out her numbers. She brushed away the rubbings and began to tap the paper again.

 _1635.2_ , Jon thought as he made quick work of the sums. His Bound Soul let out a huff of frustration that Jon was surprised he could hear very clearly - every other blackout had been a bit like listening to things from underwater.

 _1635.2_ , he thought again, willing her to come to the correct answer. He watched her pencil move slowly across the squared paper.

1…6-

_Yes!_

1635-

_That’s it! Point two! Point two!_

1635.2

If Jon had control of his body right then, he may have punched the air. His Bound Soul moved on to the next equation and Jon wanted to hit himself over the head with something.

_This is swell and all, but me watching you struggle at math is seriously cutting into my gaming time!_

Suddenly, his Bound Soul closed her workbook.

_Oh thank the Gods!_

She gathered up her math books and put them back in her pale purple backpack, zipping it up before going to her set of drawers. There, she grabbed a large canvas that was propped up against the item of furniture. She brought it back over to her desk and leant it against the wall behind it.

_Whoa!_

On the canvas was a half finished painting of a wolf. The creature’s face took up almost the entire of the surface as its eyes seemed to bore in to Jon. She opened her desk drawer and brought out some paints and brushes and set to work on finishing her painting.

Jon watched as the squeezes of paint oozed out of the tubes on to her palette. He was mesmerised with how she knew which shades to mix with which, and by how much. Her brushstrokes were quick, making the wolf look alive and full of energy. She even used unnatural shades of purple and turquoise to highlight the creatures form and personality. His Bound Soul may struggle at math, but this, this was a  _gift._

Jon awoke with Ghost licking his face.

“Alright, alright! I’m awake, I’m awake” he protested, shoving away the owner of the smelly dog breath. Ghost gave his master a snort and turned to chow down on Jon’s dropped sandwich. 

That night, he dreamt of a wolf watching him, but he was not afraid.

* * *

## Sansa Stark, Aged 14

“No, no, no! Not now! Not while Mum’s out of town!” Sansa muttered as her eyes widened at the red smear on the toilet paper. She shoved some clean paper into her underwear and went to sit on the stairs as she wondered what to do.

Pulling her phone out of her jeans pocket, she selected her Mum’s number in her contacts as her leg bounced nervously. The call was answered on the third ring.

“Hello honey, is everything alright?”

“Um, yes” Sansa squeaked, unable to keep her voice even as she chewed at her thumbnail.

“What is it? Sansa, what’s happened?”

“It’s…it’s nothing…it’s just..” she sniffed, trying to hold it together as her eyes began to water “…Mum…I think….I think I’ve started my period…and I don’t know what to do! I don’t have anything, and you’re not here, and….and…” Sansa screwed her eyes shut.

_I will not cry. I will not cry._

“Sansa, oh baby, this is a  _good_  thing, sweet girl. My baby’s growing up” came the crooning voice over the phone. Sansa took a deep breath and wiped at her eyes with the heel of one hand.

“I know” she croaked “I just wish that you were here when it happened.”

“I’m sorry sweetie, I wish I was too, but we couldn’t have predicted this now could we?”

“No” Sansa sniffed.

“Anyway, I’ve just two more days left of his blasted conference, and then I’ll be back home darling. Don’t worry.”

“Okay…..Mum?”

“Yes sweetheart?”

“I need….towels” Sansa whispered the last word. “Do you have any?”

“No darling, I don’t think I do….I have tampons…but….I don’t suppose you fancy using those?” Sansa shook her head even though she knew her mother was unable to see her. “You can ask your father to go and fetch you some from the shop?”

“Dad?!” Sansa yelped, getting to her feet and walking back to her bedroom “No…I can’t…”

“Okay sweetie. Don’t worry, I’ll talk to your father and send him out to get you the things you need. He won’t mind darling. You shouldn’t be embarrassed.”

A little while later, after her call, she heard her Dad’s mobile phone ring somewhere in the house, followed by the deep murmuring of her father’s voice. She pressed her ear to her bedroom door to try and discern the conversation but it was useless. Suddenly, her Dad’s voice stopped and she could hear the _thump thump thump_  as he climbed the stairs. Sansa bolted from where she stood and practically leapt upon her bed.

_Knock knock._

“Sansa? Sweetheart? Can I come in?” Came her father’s soft voice.

“Yes” 

The door creaked open as he stepped inside. “Your Mother says you need me to get you some things” Ned said, sitting down beside his daughter, making the mattress bounce a little. “She also said that you were upset?”

Sansa nodded, a sniffle that she hated escaping her as she allowed her Father to pull her into his side with a warm embracing arm.

“This is nothing to worry about sweet girl. You know that don’t you?”

“Yes” Sansa whispered “I don’t know why I’m upset.”

Ned stroked his daughter’s hair before giving a soft snort. “Well, in my very limited experience with these kind of…’womanly things’, I would say that’s fairly normal” his shoulder bounced a little under Sansa’s cheek “Don’t tell your Mother that I said that though.”

“I won’t” she chuckled quietly.

* * *

## Jon Snow, Aged 16

Jon awoke on the couch at Sam’s house. Luckily, he had had Ghost with him and Jon had started to link some of his dog’s behaviour with an oncoming blackout. As soon as the German Shepherd yapped at him and began pawing at his legs, Jon knew he needed to sit down or risk falling.

“Jon? Jon? Are you alright?” Sam’s voice sounded distant as the light of the room began to blind him.

“Yeah” he answered groggily, scrubbing his hands down his face.

“What did you see? What was she doing?” his friend asked.

Jon’s face flushed a crimson red.

_She got her period. She had to ask her Dad to get her the things she needs._

“Um…nothing much….just…umm…reading.”

“What was she reading?” Sam asked excitedly. Jon should have known his bookish friend would enquire further.

“I don’t know! I didn’t get a proper look!” he snapped.

“Oh…ok” Sam said in a defeated tone before a silence fell on the two friends.

Jon finally looked at Sam’s fallen face. He had bit harshly at a perfectly reasonable question and felt bad at acting like that with his best friend. The guy had enough on his plate with his overbearing father shouting at him whenever he was home - he didn’t need a quick tempered friend too. But, for some reason, Jon just felt….irritable.

“Her name is Sansa” Jon finally said in a quiet voice as he stared at the Tarly’s coffee table.

“You found out her name?” Sam replied, his interest piqued again. “Sansa?” his friend tried out the word on his tongue “that’s a pretty name.”

_Yeah. It is._

“Hey Sam?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you have any Ibuprofen?”

“Probably. Why?” Sam shrugged.

“I’ve got this really weird stomach ache and my back hurts” Jon answered, rubbing his abdomen.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sansa is uncomfortable with what she sees. Jon gets a job and feels a bit of jealousy brewing and then Sansa sees more than she bargained for!

## Sansa Stark, Aged 15

Sansa knew that she was likely to witness something like this at some point, but she was just not mentally prepared to experience this with her Bound Soul.

“Jon” the redhead moaned as he buried his head between her neck and shoulder and began sucking a hicky on her skin. Sansa could see the pattern of the couch that she had seen a countless number of times by now.

_He’s at his house. With a girl. Who is she?_

The redhead shimmied beneath him, wriggling her hands down to pull her top up over her head, leaving her in a black bra.

Jon rose up on his hands. “Yg, we don’t have to…only if you want to” he said, moving to cup her cheek, gently stroking her temple with his thumb.

“I want to, Jon” the girl grinned back up at him, poking her fingers into the cup of her bra and pulling out a condom.

Sansa’s gut twisted. She didn’t like this. Not at all. And yet, some strange part of her was excited by it. This was  _her_  Jon’s  _first time_  - she was sure of it. She was just sad that it couldn’t be with her.

_That’s just ridiculous Sansa! He might not even live in Westeros! What’s he meant to do? Hold out on the tiny chance that we might meet?_

Jon laughed nervously and was about to swoop down and kiss ‘Yg’ again, when the door suddenly opened, banging against the wall. Both teenagers jumped (as did Sansa) as Ghost came banding in to sniff and lick at Jon’s face.

 _Gods! He does that a lot!_  Sansa thought happily as the jealous part of her heart praised ‘Ghost the cock-blocker’.

_Good boy!_

“Ghost! What the fuck?” Jon muttered as he tried to push off the relentless attentions of his dog. ‘Yg’ laughed and tried to help.

“I think he was mad that you were giving me all your attention.”

“Yeah well-” Jon said, giving Ghost a final shove “he’ll just have to get used to it won’t he?”

 Sansa awoke in her own living room floor, being cradled in her Mother’s arms.

“Sansa? Honey?” Her Mum asked “are you alright? What did you see?”

“I’m fine Mum” she said, peeling herself away from her Mother and standing on shaky feet. “I just…I just want to go lay down.”

“Oh…okay darling” her Mum said as she watched her eldest daughter slowly climb the stairs.

 _Somewhere, my Jon, whose soul is bound to mine, is experiencing something special with someone else,_ she thought numbly, knowing she should feel happy for him, but not quite managing it. 

* * *

## Jon Snow, Aged 18

Jon and Ghost slowly made their way back home after an evening at the well-lit nearby dog park. The streetlights were flickering on, illuminating their way as Jon was lost in his thoughts. He’d had a meeting with a careers adviser from the Fire Service that hadn’t gone as Jon had planned.

 _Wish I never had a bloody Bound Soul - is there anything good about it?!_ , he thought, kicking a pebble with perhaps more force than necessary. Ghost looked up at him by his side with a lolling tongue.  _Except you buddy_ , Jon reached down to scratch his dog’s ear.  _At least I’ve got you._

“Hey Jon, late night stroll with the mutt?” came a voice from a nearby porch. Jon turned to see Mance Rayder, his neighbour two houses over, sat on the steps of his house, puffing cigarette smoke into the night.

“Yes Mr Rayder Sir” Jon replied, shoving his hands in his pockets and wandering over the man. Jon liked Mance, he didn’t use any flowery language and told things straight. He remembers cutting his lawn for him when he was younger. The man made him go back and remove the plant pots to go over it again before he paid him.  _No good doing a job unless it’s done right, lad._

“You’re a man now Jon, I reckon you can call me Mance” he said with a smile before taking another drag of his cigarette. “You look troubled, take a seat” Mance said, nodding to the space on the steps beside him.

Jon sighed and sat down. “Can I have one of those?”

The older man raised his eyebrows and then chuckled. “Whatever you do lad, don’t tell your Mother” he said, shaking a cigarette out of the pack for Jon and fishing out his lighter from his pocket. “That woman may be small, but damn it if she ain’t fierce - especially when it comes to her boy.”

Jon grinned and cupped the flame from Mance’s lighter to shield it from the evening breeze.

“So what’s got you all twisted up and angrier than usual?”

“I’m not usually angry.”

“Might I remind you of the fate of one of my terracotta plant pots that one summer years ago?”

Jon laughed. “I just….set it down with a bit more force than I realised was all.”

“Aye…is that what it was?” the old man chuckled out some smoke.

Jon took a long drag and blew. Ghost grumbled in his throat and bounded up the steps behind them to lay on the decking of the porch. “I had a meeting today with the Fire Service - turns out I can’t join” Jon said to the street. 

Mance nodded to himself. “Hm…that ‘cause o’ your….condition?” Jon didn’t like for everyone to know about his Bound Soul, but sometimes when he was younger, Mance would watch over him when his Mum had to work late - he had witnessed a few blackouts for himself.

“Yep” Jon chirped before bringing the cigarette back to his lips “they said I’m a risk. If I blackout in a burning building, I’m just one more person that needs saving” he said, turning to the old man beside him.

“Hm” Mance nodded “and I suppose you can’t very well drag that there mutt of yours into burnin’ buildings neither” he surmised 

”Nope….I wouldn’t anyway - Ghost wouldn’t wanna do that” Jon murmured, twisting round to look at his canine companion asleep on the deck.

“So what you gonna do then lad?”

“I dunno” Jon shrugged “I’ve wanted to join the Fire Service since I can remember-”

“That for that fancy uniform to get the girls all goo-goo-eyed over yer?” Mance nudged Jon’s ribs with his elbow.

“No” he laughed. “I….I just wanted to help people…to…save people if I could….I don’t wanna be stuck behind a desk in some stuffy office, punching numbers into a computer.”

“Well, there’s plenty o’ other jobs out there for tha’ lad.”

Jon took the last drag of his cigarette and stubbed it out on the concrete beneath his sneakers. “Yeah, but all the answers will be the same, won’t they? I can’t be a paramedic because of the blackouts and I can’t have Ghost with me in an ambulance - Gods know what one swipe of his tail would do to all of that equipment-” as if on cue, Ghost’s tail began to thump against the wood. “It’s the same for a cop or the army or-”

“Alright, alright, I get the picture” Mance offered another cigarette from his pack, only to shrug and put it in his own mouth once Jon refused it “how often do those blackouts of yours happen anyway?”

“It’s different…I got three in one day once, and one time I didn’t have any for seven months.” The old man stayed silent making Jon feel compelled to fill the quiet. “Sometimes I’m out for only a few seconds - I’m literally pushing myself off of the ground straight after I’ve hit it…. But, sometimes, I’m with her longer, I see more of her life” Jon’s words trailed off. He took a steadying breath and shook his head “It’s just weird being in someone else’s head, you know?”

“No lad. I don’t.” Mance smiled “What do yer see when you’re in ‘er head?”

“Mostly flashes of stuff. TV shows she’s watching, talking with her friend, eating her food…….she paints” Jon blurted and then ducked his head to smile at himself “she’s good at it….she’s got a real talent for drawing and painting….I…I like watching her do that.”

“You think you’ll ever find ‘er?”

Jon stood and tapped his thigh to wake his dozing dog. “Probably not…..listen, Mr Rayd- Mance, thanks for the cig…I better get home.”

“Alright then lad…goodnight.”

Jon and Ghost made it to the end of Mance’s front lawn before his dog began yapping at him, Ghost’s front paws padding up and down before he started clawing at Jon’s legs.

“Oh shit.”

“Something wrong?” Mance called.

“I need to sit down” Jon said as he did just that “I’m gonna have a blackout.”

Mance got up from his place on the steps “you’d better lay d-” he watched Jon fall back onto the lush green grass before his words could escape him in full.

At first, all Jon saw was blackness, but then lots of little swaying lights came into focus accompanied by many murmuring voices. It took him a while to realise what he was looking at, but Sansa, his Bound Soul gave him a clue in the way of riffling through a bag to fish out a lighter. Jon noticed that she had luminescent paint in swirling patterns and dots up her arm. Sansa swiped her thumb over the spark wheel making a small flame come to life, she lifted in the air to join the others.

“And where did you get that from?” he heard someone say beside her. Sansa turned and Jon was able to see her older brother, Robb with a poorly concealed grin. It was still fairly dark, making the white of Robb’s teeth stand out, along with the glow-in-the-dark yellow dots of paint he had under his eyes.

“Don’t look at me, this is Arya’s bag” he heard his Sansa say in response.

“Thanks for ratting me out, traitor” came another voice. Sansa turned so that Jon could see the owner, but before he had a chance to focus on what he suspected to be his Bound Soul’s little sister, some soft music started playing in the dark and the crowd joined in a collective ‘whoop’ of excitement.

 

> _[A falling star fell from your heart and landed in my eyes  
>  I screamed aloud, as it tore through them, and now it’s left me blind](http://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D2EIeUlvHAiM%26list%3DPLwceFb1owDJnbdp3meQJyN8i3o8OQGN-7%26index%3D2&t=YzBjNGE2M2U1NGNiZmY0MjU5ZDViM2ZjMjJmOTVmMmMwOTQwMzk4ZSxER25MakZsaw%3D%3D&b=t%3ArFGIemSwrG9Hh-i9m6YGeg&p=https%3A%2F%2Famymel86.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F165863899219%2Fbound-souls-jonsa-exchange-this-is-my-jonsa&m=1) _

_I know this song,_ Jon thought as he listened to the woman’s melodic voice and the ethereal notes of a tinkling harp. With the sudden introduction of a dramatic drumbeat, the lights of the stage burst into life, shining bright against the night making the crowd erupted as the woman sang on.

 

> _The stars, the moon, they have all been blown out_  
>  You left me in the dark  
>  No dawn, no day, I’m always in this twilight  
>  In the shadow of your heart

_It’s Florence and the Machine,_ Jon realised as he heard Sansa’s voice join the others calling out the lyrics.  _She’s at a festival._ Jon could practically feel the atmosphere charged with the crowd’s collective excitement. There was a buzz in the air, so strong he felt like he might be able to taste it.

 

> _And in the dark, I can hear your heartbeat_  
>  _I tried to find the sound  
>  _ _But then it stopped, and I was in the darkness,  
>  _ _So darkness I became_

“Hey” came a half shout of a voice in Sansa’s ear. She turned and Jon saw a guy that he did not recognise.

“Harry!” he heard her say in happy greeting, before throwing her arms around him to give him a warm hug. ‘Harry’ gave Jon’s Bound Soul a kiss on the cheek before dragging his finger down the side of her face.

“Nice paint job.”

“Thanks” Sansa giggled “I can do you too if you wan- I mean, I can-” she stuttered as Jon realised that something about this guy made her nervous and flirty. He did not like it - a _t all_. “I have more paint, I mean…if…if you want me to paint your face?”

“Yeah, I’d like that” Harry replied “you wanna come and ‘do me’ in my tent? Me and the boys got a pitch in the west field” he said with an insufferable smirk. Sansa giggled - Jon didn’t like that either.

_Uh - No!? Say no to this creep, Sansa! C’mon!_

“Yeah I’d like tha-” Sansa started with a nod.

“No way!” Robb inturupted, tugging on Sansa’s wrist as she was about to be led away by Harry “Mum will kill me if I let you out of my sight….and you’re definitely not going anywhere with _him!”_

Jon would have kissed Sansa’s big brother right then if he could.

“Sorry” Sansa shouted, leaning close to Harry’s ear and gripping on to his shoulders.

“Hey, that’s alright” he answered with a shrug, shooting a look at Robb and darting his eyes away when he was met with a deadly glare. “See you in English Lit on Monday Sans” Harry smiled before giving her another peck on the cheek and disappearing into the crowd.

_I do not like that dude._

“I do not like that dude Sans” Robb shouted over the music and crowd noise “he’s got a reputation for being a fuckboy.”

“And you had a reputation for being violent and starting fights at school, when everyone knows you’re just a big soft puppy at heart” Sansa countered “I’m not paying attention to rumours and reputations, Robb.”

_There’s no smoke without fire though._

“There’s no smoke without fire, Sansa” Robb said, glancing back at where Harry had melted into the crowd “I just don’t want you to wind up getting hurt is all.”

“I know you don’t” Jon heard Sansa say as she leant forward and kissed her brother on the cheek. Her attention returned to the singer and band up on stage as the song reached the slow, moody interlude.

 

>   
>    
>  _I took the stars from my eyes, and then I made a map_  
>  _And knew that somehow I could find my way back_  
>  _Then I heard your heart beating, you were in the darkness too_  
>  _So I stayed in the darkness with you_  
>    
> 

“Jon? Jon? Yer coming round yet lad?” Mance said, peering down at him and shaking his shoulder. Jon responded with a mumble as he sat up. “What did yer see?”

“She was at a concert…a festival” he replied, rubbing his head. The corners of Mance’s mouth turned downwards as he nodded.

“Enjoying herself I bet?”

“Yeah…I think so.”

“Listen, Jon, how do you fancy workin’ with me at the park?”

Jon turned to look the old man in the face, his interest piqued “At Wolf Wood Nature Reserve?”

“Yeah….you can bring yer mutt with yer. He seems to know what he’s doing” Mance stretched a hand out to ruffle Ghost’s fur “you can train to be a ranger, if yer want?”

“Really?”

“Yes lad” the man smiled before his smile dropped and he pointed a finger “although, I’ll warn yer - that young lass I used to see you sneakin’ into your house works at the tourist hut - if you get caught with ‘er on my time that’ll be it mind you.”

“Ygritte? We’re just friends now” Jon smiled bashfully.

“Mm-hmm, see that you keep it that way too, yer hear?”

“Yes sir. Thank you.”

“Alright. Be here at 7:30am, I’ll drive you in.”

After thanking Mance a few extra times for good measure, Jon and Ghost wandered back home, where Jon went straight to his iPod dock. He selected the very same song that Sansa had been swaying in the crowd to and laid back on his bed staring at the ceiling.

Jon’s thoughts ticked over and flowed into one another until he tugged his phone out of his pocket. He pulled up a search for festivals that Florence and the Machine were playing at and saw that they were headlining at the ‘Free Folk Festival’ just outside of Karhold.

_That’s not that far, in the North at least…what if…..no, people travel from all around to go these things though. It doesn’t mean anything._

Placing his phone screen down on his chest, he stared back at that unchanging ceiling again as his iPod flowed into the next song.

_She’s close for tonight at least._

* * *

## Sansa Stark, Aged 17

Sansa was bursting with excitement to get home from the festival, recharge her phone and finally,  _finally_  text Marge to tell her that she’d kissed Harry.

It was a miracle that she’d managed to slip out of Robb’s ever watchful gaze at all whilst her and Arya had tagged along with him and Theon to ‘Free Folk’ - but there it was - a golden opportunity. While the boys were busy packing up their tents, Harry snuck up on her and whispered behind her ear.  _Me and the lads are all ready to leave, wanna come give me a goodbye kiss?_

Ok, so hiding behind a burger van wasn’t an _ideal_  romantic location for a first kiss, what with the empty wrappers at their feet and the smell of grease in the air, but this was  _Harry-Fucking-Hardyng_  - a girl can’t afford to be so choosy when there’s those pecs, shoulders and abs like a washboard at stake.

Sansa hummed pleasantly to herself after finally stepping foot back in her bedroom and plugging in her phone. The screen came back to life but only offered her the battery symbol. Sansa huffed and scraped her hair up into a ponytail before yanking open her desk drawer and pulling out her blackout journal.

She’d witnessed one, very brief insight blackout whilst they had been away for all of three days. It couldn’t have lasted more than twenty seconds but she was determined to write every single one of them down, in the hopes that she might one day crack the puzzle and be able to meet her Bound Soul, her Jon.

She pulled out the pink fluffy pencil from her pen-pot and tried to recount the experience from a couple of days prior.

_There were a lot of trees. A forest? Ghost was there, he came bounding back to Jon and started to jump up to try and lick his face like he does so often. He was wearing hiking boots. He was humming a song. I think he was happy._

Out of the corner of her eye, Sansa caught a glimpse of her phone returning to it’s normal state, with all her apps lined up and ready to use. She squealed and reached over for it, but fell to the floor instead.

A scene swam in front of her eyes before the ripples of unfocus mellowed and she could see what she was looking at. 

Jon was in his and his Mum’s living room, sat on the couch, with his laptop perched on the coffee table. He seemed to be leant forward reading something on the bright screen. As the words came in to focus, Sansa surmised that the website Jon was looking at held information about all kinds of poisonous plants.

_Now, why in the world would you want to know about that, Jon?_

The music in the background came to a natural halt and Sansa saw the cursor on the screen move to a different browser tab. She saw him click on to a YouTube page and press the circular ‘replay’ button before the melodic notes of ‘Cosmic Love’ by Florence and the Machine started up again while Jon hummed along. If Sansa was in control of her facial features right at that moment, she would be grinning at her memory of the concert she’d just returned from.

_I wonder if he went too?!….No….don’t get your hopes up too much Sansa - it’s just a coincidence._

Jon returned to the screen with the helpful information about recognising poison ivy and Sansa soon grew bored.

_C’mon! I wanna text Marge!_

The song came to a close once more and she heard Jon let out a long huff of air. His eyes flicked to his watch and then to the closed living room door quickly before he opened a new tab on his laptop and typed in a web address.

_Oh my gods!_

Jon reached over and plucked two tissues from the square box and unzipped his pants.

_Oh my gods! Oh no!_

A video started playing on the screen of a woman in a very skimpy nurses uniform, holding a clipboard and a stethoscope slung around her neck, framing her very on display cleavage  _just so_. 

“Mr Martell, is now a good time for your sponge bath?” The woman purred at the male actor in bed with a bandage loosely wrapped around his head. Jon leant forward and dragged the video along, making the actors move speedily as they rid themselves of their clothes.

 _Well now you’re just missing most of the plot,_  Sansa thought wickedly.

At the point in which the video started playing again, both actors were completely naked, with the ‘nurse’ straddling her ‘patient’ on his hospital bed, bouncing up and down with moans and gasps.

 _I wonder if this treatment is is covered by his health insurance?_  Sansa chuckled to herself before she saw Jon reach down and pull his cock out of his pants.  _Oh my!_

She felt a little guilty at witnessing him stroke himself - he didn’t know he was being watched after all, but she would be lying if she said it didn’t excite her a little - until the actress on screen started screaming like a banshee, making Sansa internally roll her eyes.

There was a sudden loud bang as the living room door swung open and in bounced Ghost to perform his usual ritual of licking at Jon’s face.

“You’re kind of killing the mood here buddy” Jon grumbled as he pushed at his canine friend.

“Jon? Honey, are you home? Do you want lasagna tonight? Or shall we get chinese take out?” Came the obviously unexpected voice of Jon’s Mum.

_Oh Shit!_

“Oh Shit!” was all she heard him mutter before witnessing Jon slam his laptop shut as she came-to in on the floor of her bedroom. 

Sansa pulled herself up to sit back on her stool and write in her journal again, forgetting all about texting her friend. She smirked at herself as she wrote down the name of the website she’d seen him visit -  _XXXRedheadsOnly.com_

_Well there is that._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song Jon hears at the festival is Cosmic Love by Florence and the Machine


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all the kudos and comments!! I'm afraid this chapter has a wee bit of angst... but I still hope that you enjoy!!

## Jon Snow, Aged 19 (just)

“So what happens if you never meet her?” Pyp asked curiously as he opened up the tinfoil that encased his sandwiches. Jon had met Pyp and Grenn as fellow trainee rangers at The Wolf Wood Nature Reserve and founded a quick friendship with them both. The three of them were currently sheltering from the pitter-patter of raindrops in the reserve’s large equipment storage shed. It was a little early for their lunch break, but the wet weather forced them inside, so they had decided to tear free from their schedule. 

“It’s apparently different for different couples” Jon took a large bite of his own sandwich and continued to mumble through his chewing “I’ve heard of some people losing the connection with their Bound Soul over time. The blackouts can stop completely.”

“Is that what you want? For them to stop?” Grenn asked as he poured coffee from a flask.

Jon sighed, he didn’t like talking about his condition. He just wanted to be the same as everyone else. But his new friends had asked why he needed Ghost with him at all times whilst he worked, and he saw no other way round telling the truth. So of course, they had had questions.

“They are not particularly fun, so yeah, I wouldn’t mind if they stopped” he said, tearing a corner of his sandwich off and offering it to Ghost.

“You ever seen ‘er naked?” Grenn asked, a grin forming on his mouth as he brought his plastic mug up to his lips.

“Uh…yeah, sort of” Jon felt his cheeks heat a bit as he remembered two very brief blackouts - one where Sansa had been dressing herself, allowing him to catch a glimpse of pink nipple before her breast disappeared into the cup of a pale blue bra. And another when she had been laying in the bath, singing in a sweet voice that echoed off of the tiles as a ridiculous amount of bubbles floated and sloshed on the water, covering various areas of her body from his view. He’d pictured slippery, soapy skin when he’d jacked off that night.

“Wish I had a bloody Bound Soul!” Grenn laughed, nudging Jon with his elbow.

 _No, you don’t,_  Jon thought, but he did not voice it.

“Have you seen anything that shows you where she is?” Pyp enquired, brushing crumbs off of his fluorescent waterproof jacket.

Jon shook his head. “Not really. She was in Karhold about two months ago, I know that for sure. But, as for where she actually lives? I haven’t got a clue.”

“Are you gonna try and find her?” he heard one of his friends say, but he had not really registered which.

“I…” he started, furrowing his brow as he paused, listening to the  _ding-ding-ding_  of raindrops landing on the corrugated tin roof over their heads  “…I honestly don’t know…she may not even be having the blackouts yet. What am I gonna say?  _‘Hi, I’m Jon, I’ve been watching you since you were around 6 years old’?_  She might not even know that she has a Bound Soul yet.” He paused and took another bite of his lunch, chewing hurriedly before talking around his mouthful “what if she’s with someone? What if she’s happy?” Jon swallowed his food and shook his head “nah, I can’t do that to her.”

Jon’s mind wandered to that guy, Harry, causing an uncomfortable pang to appear in his gut. 

“But aren’t you like…’soulmates’? I thought that was the whole  _point_?” Pyp asked. “Aren’t you  _‘meant to be’_?”

Jon snorted. “Nothing is  _‘meant to be_ ’ in this world, Pyp.”

_My mum thought that her and Dad were ‘meant to be’ but that didn’t stop him from running out on us._

Standing up and brushing the crumbs from himself, Jon began to make his way over to the door. “Mance wants us to check the fences over by the east entrance.” He opened the door and peered out and up into the crying sky “do you reckon it’ll let up or shall we just get on with-”

Ghost sprang to his feet and began barking and pawing at his leg.

“Ah, shi-” he managed to mutter, before collapsing.

Jon heard a girls voice before he saw anything.

“So you did it, yeah?”

“Yeah” came the response that was quite clearly his Sansa. Jon’s vision cleared and he saw her pink polka-dot bedding - but not the owner of the other voice.

“Aaaand?”

“’And’  _what_  Marge?” Sansa responded, getting up off of her bed and wandering over to her bedroom window. The sill was deep enough for her to perch upon it, so that is what she did, swinging her legs up onto it too. Jon saw her long legs covered in her pink plaid pyjama bottoms and grey socks - they had a repeating pattern of cartoon white dog faces with black noses and pink tongues lolling out of their mouths. They looked like Ghost. At her feet was a small china dish with little shells and pretty stones. It reminded him of an insight blackout he’d had a few years back where all he saw was that Sansa was clearly at the beach, her toes wiggled in the sand as she bent down to pick up a swirly shell. 

“ _You_   _know_! How was  _it_?”

Sansa sighed and Jon only just realised that she must be on her phone. She leant her head to one side, against the window pane. Jon swore he could feel the cold of it on his own skin. Outside, the sky looked grey as raindrops beat against the window. “It was….fine….it was fine.”

“ _Fine?!_  Sansa…..did you not want to have sex with him?”

_Wait, what?!_

Jon felt like he’d just been thrown into an ice river. If he had had control of his breath at that moment, he was sure that he would have held on to it.

“No, that’s not it - I did want to sleep with Harry, but-”

“Sansa, he didn’t force you did he? Because if he did, I’ll chop his dick off!” Marge’s tinny voice suddenly sounded menacing coming in through the small phone speakers.

_Yeah, and I’ll hold him down while you do, then run his balls through a mangle, then I’ll-_

“No! No! I  _wanted_  to - I did! It’s just….”

_What? ‘It’s just’ what, Sansa?_

“’It’s just’  _what_ , Sansa?”

Jon watched as his Bound Soul brought up a delicate finger and drew a heart in the condensation on the window, the drag of her finger making a slow, quiet squeak against the glass. She huffed and then swiped her whole hand across her doodle, erasing the heart completely.

“It just wasn’t how I thought it’d be.”

“What do you mean? Did he hurt you?”

_If he did, I’ll-_

“No…well, no more than what’s normal for a first time, I guess.”

Something constricted in Jon’s chest like a tight squeeze that he dearly wanted to rub better. It burned.

“Well, it’s not much of a surprise that Hard-of-Hearing-Harry doesn’t know what he’s doing in the sack Sans, he’s not the most considerate guy going.”

Jon saw Sansa move her phone from one ear to the other as she straightened where she sat. “’Hard-of-Hearing-Harry’?”

“Oh c’mon! Don’t think I didn’t see how your face fell when you opened the birthday present he got you.”

“The gift voucher was-”

“Was for a measly ten dragons and you don’t even shop at that store! Honestly, it’s like he doesn’t know you at all!” Marge’s voice became a little shrill before it softened “Everyone knew that you’d been dropping him major hints that you’d wanted that watercolour paint set, Sans.”

Sansa stayed quiet - which Jon took to mean that her friend had probably jabbed at the truth.

“I didn’t want to seem ungrateful” she eventually said in a small, thin voice “I just thought he knew me better than that is all.”

“He’s just an inconsiderate ass-”

“He’s not  _that_  bad Marge….anyway, enough about that, how was your weekend away?” Sansa deflected.

Jon was only half listening to the easy girl chatter as his mind conjured images of Harry’s incessant smirking face, of him panting, of his undeserving hands grasping her soft skin and of  _his_  Sansa’s hands pushing him away.

_No. She said that she wanted to._

His gut twisted never-the-less and he tried hard to extinguish the anger bubbling in his chest.

_She’s not yours. She might never be. She has to live her life just as you do yours._

Before he knew it, Sansa was swinging her legs down from the windowsill, hanging up the call and throwing her phone onto the pink polka-dot bed. She went to her closet and, rather curiously, took a deep breath with her hand poised on the handle of the white painted door. Once open, Sansa dropped to her knees and reached in to shift a box out of the way on the floor. Behind the box was a pair of hiking boots. Jon watched Sansa dip her hand into the left boot and bring a hidden object out.

_What the?…OH SHIT!_

Sansa sat back and stared down at the object framed in her hands - a small long white box with blue writing -  _Home Pregnancy Test._

“Jon? You alright mate?” Pyp’s voice was echoing around in his head before he heard himself groan.

“Urghhh, how long was I out?”

“Not long” came an unexpected voice. An unexpected  _female_  voice. Jon cracked his eyes open to see a pretty blonde girl kneeling beside him. “I put you in the recovery position” she smiled.

“Uh…thanks” Jon mumbled, sitting up and rubbing his head.

“Mance sent me to find you lot. I’m Val” the lovely blonde said, offering her hand.

“She’s ranger training too” Grenn supplied where he stood behind her, eyebrows waggling suggestively.

Jon wasn’t sure if it was from the shock of the blackout or from the beaming smile Val was giving him, but he felt dazed and uneasy.

* * *

## Sansa Stark, Aged 19

 _Harry would have hated this_ , Sansa thought over the loud buzzing noise as she grit her teeth and let her head fall back onto the red leather headrest.  _‘Slag tags’ he called them_ , she remembered, gazing around at the tattoo designs framed on the walls.  _Thank the Gods I’m no longer with him. The prick. Would I have stayed with him if that pregnancy scare had turned out differently?_

“How you holding up?” Marge called over, breaking Sansa free from her thoughts. She grimaced in response at the sharp scratch of needle currently penetrating the skin if her thigh. Margaery laughed which earnt her a stern look from the tattoo artist who was currently working on her arm. Sansa glanced down at the nearly finished tattoo on her leg. the work had been painful and slow-going, but it was beautiful.

_A beautiful, fierce wolf._

Sansa had designed the piece herself. It reminded her of a painting that she had done a long time ago. She had given that painting to her father - it now hung proudly above the fireplace in his study. She had also sketched the design for Margaery’s rose tattoo, although, Sansa had originally created it as a beautiful blue Winter Rose - “ _Golden darling, it must be golden”_  - her friend had insisted.

 _Gods_ , she was going to miss her friend. Margaery had been accepted on to her dream degree, Fashion Marketing, and would soon be moving away to Highgarden to attend Uni there. Sansa would be starting at Winterfell Uni herself soon. Harry had tried to convince her to join him and study at Eyrie Tech, claiming that she should give up her ‘airy fairy’ fantasies of arts programmes and creative careers -  _“Just do Business Management with me Sans. What does it matter what you study anyway?”_  - Sansa shuddered at the thought of being stuck miles away from home, and  _Harry_  being the only person she knew. She winced when the tattoo artist’s needle hit a particular spot, drawing in a long breath over her teeth and screwing her eyes shut.

“Not long now little bird. Nearly done” Sandor, the great hulking man who had been working on her skin said. Sansa gave him a smile through her grimace which made him chuckle when he saw it. “I’ve seen grown men cope a lot worse.” 

Sansa didn’t answer. She wasn’t sure that she liked the pet name he’d given her in the space of a few hours. Lowering her head back down to the headrest, Sansa closed her eyes and tried to concentrate on breathing. Her skin felt hot all over - like a flame hat been lit beneath it. She could feel her hairline becoming damp with sweat and wondered if Sandor would give her a break from it all if she asked him for a glass of water.

She very almost did just that when the room began to spin and her head felt lighter than a helium balloon. Sansa’s vision was lost, which brought on it’s own panic - that is, until she heard his voice.

_Jon._

She had not had a blackout in so long - almost a year. A fearful part of her wondered if something had happened to him, severing the connection that they had. Sansa felt relief flood her body.

“You knew. You knew about this Val. I have been honest. You knew right from the start!” she heard Jon plead as the scene before her slowly bled into her vision.

 _‘Val’?_  Sansa could see a blonde woman with her back to Jon. She was standing at a kitchen counter that Sansa did not recognise. She wondered if Jon was in ‘Val’s’ house, or if he had moved.

_Has he moved in with her?_

“Aye. I knew” the blonde said, turning her head but not looking at Jon “I knew  _what you told me_.”

There was a heavy pause between them that Sansa did not like. This woman meant something to Jon and she hated herself for detesting the idea.

_We both have to live our own lives._

“I told you everything” she heard Jon say, although the words sounded practised and Sansa wasn’t sure that she believed them.

Val turned to face him, a mirthless laugh upon her lips. “Everything?  _You told me_  that there was hardly any chance that the two of you would meet.  _You told me_  that your condition was just a nuisance and that you don’t put any stock into that ‘soulmates’ rubbish.  _You told me_  that I have nothing to worry about!!

_Oh. Oh no._

“Val,  _please_. Let-…..let me explain.”

“Go on then. Explain why you have gifts for your Bound Soul? For a girl that you’ll never meet?  _For someone who means nothing to you?_ ” Val spat as she shoved a small box along the counter. Sansa recognised it as a Watercolour Paint Set - a decent one too.

Val’s words rang in her ears and thumped against the inside of her skull -  _someone who means nothing to you_  - had Jon really said that? Had he meant it? The paint set screamed differently, and yet the realisation had not made Sansa happy. The silence between Jon and Val stretched on and Sansa could see the blonde crack and crumble over the unsaid words. She didn’t want this. She didn’t want to  _witness_  this. She didn’t want to be the  _cause_  of this.

Jon finally spoke in a slow, even tone. “I saw it…and I remembered that she likes to paint. That’s all it is. It would be like giving a gift to a friend.”

“A friend?” Val retorted incredulously. “So, are you saying, that if somehow Sansa walked into your life whilst you’re with me, that  _that_ is all you would be to each other? _Friends?_ ”

Suddenly, Sansa’s vision began to cloud and the sight of Val on the verge of either succumbing to her tears, or smacking Jon around the face started to fade to a black nothingness as Sansa was left to wonder what Jon’s next words might be. She couldn’t even find it in herself to celebrate the huge discovery that he knew her name.

“Little bird? You alright? Little bird?” came a deep, gruff voice, right by Sansa’s ear. Multiple pairs of concerned eyes gradually became clearer. Margaery spoke first.

“What was he doing this time?”

Sandor turned to give Sansa’s friend a curious look.

“I…..I think he was having a row with his girlfriend….because of me” she replied, taking a gulp and knitting her brows.

“Did he dump her?” Marge probed.

“No….No, it’s not that simple…it’s…” Sansa’s voice trailed off as she stared at nothing at all. Margaery was beckoned back to the other tattooist’s work station, but that did not stop her friend from contantly throwing some concerned glances Sansa’s way. Sandor turned his needle back on, the electric buzz humming loudly.

“Ahh!” Sansa flinched, when he made contact once again. She had almost completely forgotten where she was. Sandor wiped her leg and looked up at her.

“So you one of those Bound Souls then huh?”


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Never trust anyone you meet on the internet.

## Jon Snow, Aged 21

Jon bounced his leg up and down nervously as he sat in the waiting room. He’d shown the strange red mark that appeared on his thigh a few days ago to Sam, who was studying to become a Doctor, but his friend was at a loss - so here he was.

He was staring glumly at the three mediocre paintings that were framed upon the magnolia painted walls of the Winter Town Doctor’s Surgery.

_One of Sansa’s paintings would look so much better._

“Jon Snow, Room 15 to see Dr Luwin” came a disembodied tinny voice through the speaker attached to the wall near the ceiling.

“Hmmm….” the kindly old man had said once he’d had a thorough look over the blotch of red on Jon’s skin. Jon hurriedly pulled his jeans back up.

“So what do you think it could be?” he asked, pulling his belt through the buckle to secure it.

Dr Luwin scratched at his balding head. “It is definitely an odd kind of rash Jon, it almost looks like a birth mark, but since you say it has appeared recently, I am sceptical” he scooted his wheeled chair back over to his desk and tapped at the keys on his computer. “I’m going to book you in to see the dermatologist, Jon, I-” he paused, moving his mouse along on Jon’s file and making a few clicks here and there. “I see that you are a Bound Soul? Are you paired?”

Jon shook his head with a sad smile upon his lips as he sat back down on one of the patients chairs. The older man nodded thoughtfully.

“I have only ever treated six other Bound Souls in the entirety of my career” he sat back and clasped his hands together, his thumbs rotating around each other as he regarded his patient. “It is not a very kind condition on the heart, for one that does not directly affect it, medically speaking” the doctor finished with a kind upward tilt of his lips. 

Jon bobbed his head in agreement, glancing down at his own hands as he leant forward, his elbows on his knees. Jon did not want the old man’s pity, but he also found a little comfort in his understanding. “Have any of your Bound patients been paired?”

“No, I’m afraid not, Jon.”

Jon nodded. “The blackouts…I’m not getting as many of them as I once did” he looked up at the doctor “is that normal?”

“Well, all individual cases are different I’m afraid, but it is not uncommon for the blackouts to diminish over time, sometimes stopping altogether.”

Straightening in his seat, Jon wasn’t sure if the prospect of losing his connection with Sansa was a welcome one or not.

_I could be normal._

“Are-” Jon started “are any of those other Bound Souls that you’ve treated current patients of yours?”

The greying man smiled sympathetically back at Jon “you know I can’t tell you that, Jon” he patted the pile of folders on his desk “doctor-patient confidentiality.”

“Oh…yes, of course, sorry.”

Jon returned to his mother’s house after his appointment. He flopped back on his bed and groaned into his hands as they covered his face. Propping himself up on his elbows, he surveyed his room. There were boxes and a couple of suitcases in front of his wardrobe. He’d lived with Val for nearly 8 months and felt like the contents of those boxes held their relationship. He wasn’t yet ready to unpack.

_Why’d you have to buy that paint set? Idiot._

He sat up and grabbed the watercolour paints off of his bedside table - it being one of the only things he’d unpacked so far. Jon hunched over the little tin box, turning it around in his hands and opening it up to see the different coloured blocks of paint. Huffing out of his nose, he snapped it shut again and threw it into his drawer, slamming it closed as he stood to go and look out of the window. It had begun to rain.

Bracing his hands against the windowsill as he watched the droplets run down the pane of glass to join with their siblings, racing southward even faster. Jon’s finger nudged at something on the sill.  _Shells_. He’d forgotten about those - they had been hidden amongst the smooth pebbles on Stony Shore when he’d taken a trip there with his Mum over a year ago. They had reminded him of Sansa and her little dish of shells on her own windowsill. He picked up the twirly stripy one and glanced back at his unpacked boxes.

_What do I have of Val? There’s….there’s….the map from our hiking trip-_

“Thanks for fitting me in with such short notice. I really appreciate it!” came a voice from outside Jon’s window, causing his head to snap back to the drizzly scene outside.

Down below, he could see a woman emerging from the neighbour’s house. It wasn’t unusual - Ros worked long hours at a nearby hairdressers, but she also supplemented her income by taking clients at her home. There was a flash of coppery red - brighter than Ros’, before the woman popped open her purple umbrella, obscuring most of herself from Jon’s viewpoint.

“That’s quite alright! I hope the lucky guy on your blind date appreciates the effort you’re putting in!” Ros replied from her doorway. 

“Yeah, it’s a weird kind of blind date really” he heard the woman say as she turned to walk back towards her car parked on the street.

“Good luck!” Ros called after her before closing her door. 

Just then, the rain began to pound down more heavily, the noise of it against Jon’s window rapidly becoming deafening. The woman below gave out a little shriek as she hurried along to get into the safety of her car. There was a flash, then a few seconds later, a rumble of complaining thunder. Jon continued to watch as the woman took down her umbrella, allowing him another brief glimpse of her red hair - bright against the grey of the rainy day, and expertly curled by his neighbour. Her head quickly disappeared into a little blue car. Jon gently placed the shell back down on the windowsill next to the others and turned around to unpack his belongings.

Two hours later, he was awoken by his Mum calling him from downstairs.

“I know it’s raining but are you at least going to let this dog out into the yard to do his business?!”

Grumbling to himself, Jon dragged his body from his bed. He’d fallen asleep after unpacking all of his boxes. Something about the sound of rain just made him relaxed and sleepy. Just as soon as he’d stood up on his feet, he was unexpectedly falling towards the floor.

“Would you care for another drink while you wait, Miss?” Jon heard a male voice say as the scene before him became clear.

“No, thank you” Sansa answered. She was sat alone in a restaurant, fiddling with her finely manicured fingers. The room was dimly lit with candles and low lighting, there was some slow piano music coming from somewhere and all around her was the happy chatter and cheerful clatter of cutlery or chink of wine glasses. Sansa held the delicate stem of her wineglass and sloshed the pale honey coloured liquid around in a circular motion.

_She’s nervous._

Jon watched as she brought her phone out and tapped a message to Margaery.

**Sansa:**  He’s not here yet. What if he took one look at me and left?

_She’s on a date._

**Marge:**  That just wouldn’t happen darling. I saw the dress you bought for tonight - you’ll knock him dead, you foxy mama!!

**Sansa:**  What if there’s no spark?

**Marge:**  How can there not be a spark with your Bound Soul?

_Wait, WHAT?!?!_

**Sansa:**  I don’t know. I’m just really nervous about meeting him Marge! Jon has been a part of my life and yet not a part of my life for so long now. What if we clash? What if we-

“Here you go sir” a waiter interrupted Sansa’s typing to seat a dark haired man in the chair opposite her.

“Sansa” the man smiled, offering his hand to her over the table.

_WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU?!_

There was a pause where Sansa’s hands were still frozen with her phone cradled in them, her thumbs still hovering over the screen to finish her text to Margaery. “Jon” she finally breathed with so much warmth in her voice that it felt like Jon’s insides were coated in melted chocolate just to hear his name in that tone.

The pleasant feeling was only fleeting however, when he saw the gleam in the unknown man’s bright blue eyes.

_WHO ARE YOU?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH SANSA?!_

“I’ve waited so long for this day” the pretender purred, bringing Sansa’s hand up to his lips.

“Y-yes” Jon hear Sansa stutter “s-so have I…it’s…surreal, really.”

_It’s surreal because it’s NOT REAL. Get out of there Sansa! Get out of there!_

“Tell me about yourself” the man said, signalling to a waiter.

“Well I…I don’t know what you already know” Sansa giggled prettily “I don’t know what you’ve seen.”

“Not nearly enough” the man smiled, his blue eyes quite visibly trailing down to Sansa’s chest.

_What the fuck, dickhead?! Gods, if I ever find out who you are I’ll-_

Sansa followed the pretender’s line of vision and glanced down her front.

_Good lord! She looks amazing. She dressed up for ME. She thought she was meeting ME. And she’s got some predator dude trying to scam his way into her bed because she thinks he’s ME! How did this even come about?!_

Jon felt like tearing his hair out as Sansa giggled nervously and tugged the front of her dress up to try to cover her cleavage a bit more. The pretender ordered a bottle of wine before turning back to survey Sansa like a piece of meat again. He folded his arms in front of himself on the table, the candle-light glinting off of a large expensive looking watch on his wrist.

“I haven’t seen you wear that before” Sansa blurted “I…I mean, it’s very nice, Jon…sorry, I’m a little nervous” she apologised, taking a sizeable gulp of wine.

The mystery man pursed his lips “That’s quite understandable.”

Sansa’s gaze travelled down to the ostentatious thing on his wrist again.

_Come on Sansa! If you know anything about me, you know that I’d never wear anything like that!_

“It was a present from my father” the man replied quickly.

_YES! Thank you deadbeat Dad for being the clue of the century!_

“Your father?” Sansa responded in a puzzled tone.

_That’s right. No father here! You know that about me Sansa! YOU KNOW THAT!_

“Did….” Sansa started “did he give one to your brother too?”

_Clever girl!!! YES!_

The pretender brought his glass of wine up to his lips as soon as it had been set down on the table. “of course” he grinned a dangerous grin.

_GET OUT OF THERE!_

“Umm…would you exuse me, Jon, I just need to use the rest room” she mumbled, grabbing her phone and clutch before trying not to run towards the back of the restaurant.

_That’s it. Act calm. Get out._

“Don’t be long” the man called after her as Jon heard her try to control her breathing. 

She pushed through a swing door and halted in a long narrow corridor. “Fuck!”

_Yeah. ‘Fuck’ is about right. Don’t hang around, just get yourself out of there! Get to somewhere safe, Sansa!_

Sansa turned around and peered out of the little round ‘porthole’ window in the door. She watched as the pretender glanced about suspiciously before his hand disappeared into his jacket, only to reemerge and drop something into Sansa’s wine glass.

“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!”

_I’ll kill him._

Sansa ran. She pushed open the first door she came to and barged past members of staff before stumbling through another, shouting apologies as she went. Jon could hear the panic in her voice. She made it to what must be the restaurant kitchen as she heard culinary commands being hollered back and fourth in amongst clatter and steam. She ran for another door and finally made it out to a side street where she gulped inlungfuls of cool night air.

Sansa craned her neck in each direction to find the main road. Once there, she practically launched herself into the nearest cab waiting at the rank. 

The driver swivelled around in his seat, folding closed the newspaper he had been reading. A look of surprise crossed his face. “You’re big date over already?”

Jon heard Sansa panting “Just take me home” she sobbed. The man stayed silent and returned to facing the wheel. The car’s engine roared into life.

“Same place as your pick up?”

“Yes, please” Sansa sniffed. Jon felt like a piece of his heart had just been painfully chipped off.

They travelled in the quiet of Sansa’s attempts to reign in any tears, the driver’s concerned eyes glancing at her through the rear-view mirror a number of times.

She pulled out her phone and Jon watched as she tapped the screen, making her way to a website called ‘Bound Soul Network’.

_What is that?_

She scrolled through numerous posts. “You said earlier that you have a daughter about my age?” Sansa said, pausing her perusal of the website to look up at the driver.

“Yeah.”

“Do her a favour and tell her to never trust anyone on the internet.”

“I will” Jon heard the man say, his voice now sounding distant as the scene before him bled away. 

Jon awoke to two sets of concerned eyes, one belonging to his Mum and one to his canine friend. 

“I’m alright” he murmured, reaching for his head as he sat up.

“Are you sure? You were thrashing about and shouting  _‘get out’_. You’ve never done that before, love.”

“Yeah, I’m-” Jon froze.

_The website._

He pulled his phone from his pocket and with shaking hands eventually found the Bound Soul Network social site. He scrolled and he scrolled.

_Her post has to be here. It has to._

He almost scrolled right past it. But there it was. A post made by a user calling themselves ‘LadyWolf’.

_**Is there a Jon here? He has a white German Shepherd dog called Ghost.** _

_That’s her! That’s Sansa!_

Jon waited not so patiently for the buffering circle on her blank profile photo to stop going round and round so he could finally,  _finally_  see her. He noticed that her post had a response from a user named ‘BoltonBoy’ -  _ **‘That sounds like me’**_

_No it fucking doesn’t mate. She’s my Bound Soul you fucking piece of shit._

“Jon? Are you alright?” His Mum asked, making him jump. He’d forgotten she was even there.

“What?…Uh, yeah…I’m fine” he replied distractedly, his eyes never leaving his phone screen. Finally, the buffering circle stopped and a message loaded.

_**User not found.** _

_Shit. She deleted her account!_

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sansa goes to a bar. Jon gets an eyefull.

## Sansa Stark, Aged 22

“Excuse me” Sansa called over the thumping base of the music in the club. She’d been waiting to get to the busy bar for what seemed like an age, and could stand it no longer. The guy in front of her had been standing there idly chatting with his friends, blocking her way to the bar, his drink already in his hand.

The man turned and looked her up and down, his eyes settling on hers as he answered with a salacious grin. Sansa gave him one of her best  _‘Don’t-even-fucking-try-buddy’_  looks, which seemed to have worked as he backed away with an apologetic expression.

 _Finally_ , she thought as she reached the bar. _I hope the girls get here soon._  Sansa craned her neck around the bar area while she waited to be served. Jeyne and Beth were meant to have met her about 20 minutes ago.  _Jeyne spent about 5 hours trying to decide what to wear, no doubt._

Sansa’s eyes followed the rushed bar tenders, trying to silently will one of them to come over and serve her. One of them scurried over to the optics at the far end of the bar bringing Sansa’s attention to a set of eyes watching her.

_Oh my! He’s cute!…More than cute, actually!_

The dark haired man gave her a bashful smile after he’d realised he’d been caught staring and ran his hand through his raven curls. Sansa ducked her head and bit at her bottom lip to try and stop herself from grinning. When she looked back up, the handsome stranger was still staring at her.

_You can come and talk to me. I wouldn’t mind that AT ALL._

Sansa smoothed her hand over her hair, trying not to make it look like she was fussing, all while being aware that he was watching her intently. She tried to be demure about the looks she was throwing his way as she watched him wrap his lips around his beer bottle to take a swig.

_Good lord! I’ve never been more jealous of a bottle._

One of the stranger’s friends started shouting in his ear - not that Sansa could hear what was being said over the booming bass of the music and general crowd noise. The man kept his intense dark eyes on Sansa as his friend talked, nodding or shaking his head a time or two.

 _Should I go and talk to him? No, I couldn’t do that. Please come over to me. I don’t bite….well…I might,_  Sansa thought to herself with a cheeky grin. _I bet you’re plenty bite-able…_

“Have you been waiting long?” came a velvet smooth voice from beside her, waking her from her lustful daydreams about the dark stranger across the bar. Sansa turned to see green eyes, blonde hair, a dazzling smile and a jaw that could cut glass.

“Uh…yes” she smiled nervously “I’ve been waiting for ages, but they  _are_  very busy tonight.”

_Wow, you’re…um…well, you’re gorgeous. A bit older than me, but, umm, yeah, still gorgeous._

“Well, no beautiful lady should be left waiting” the man replied before leaning over the bar and getting one of the tender’s attention to order drinks for them both.

Sansa glanced over at the dark haired guy as their drinks were being poured, he didn’t look too happy as his eyes darted between herself and the chivalrous blonde.

“And what do they call you, beautiful lady?” the older gentleman said, bringing her attention back to him as they were passed their drinks.

“Sansa” she smiled, tucking her hair behind her ear and taking a suck on her straw.

“Sansa” Jaime repeated like sweet, smooth honey, “the name's Jaime" he smiled, offering his hand "my brother owns this club, would you like to accompany me to the quieter VIP booths, Sansa?”

“Uh…” she peeked at the dark haired guy across the busy bar. He was still watching her with a glum expression on his face and a tight jaw. One of his friends slung an arm around his shoulders and tried to pull him away. He took a last look at Jaime, and with an irritated glug of his beer, allowed himself to be urged away from the bar.

 _Oh no! Come back gorgeous bite-able guy!_  Sansa thought sadly.

“I’m waiting for my friends” she replied to Jaime.

“Well, they are very welcome to join us once they get here” he smiled.

* * *

## Jon Snow, Aged 25

Moving house is a brutal activity. Jon has come to appreciate this as he plonks his ass down on the second-hand sofa his Mum gave him. Surrounded by boxes in various states of being unpacked and a beer in his hand, he surveys his new house. It was a little run down, but Jon was not afraid of the hard work that it would take to bring it up to scratch. Besides, if it had been in any better condition, Jon would not have been able to afford the mortgage on it.

_It’s gonna take a good long while to get this place nice. But it’ll be worth it!_

He rummaged under his butt for the TV remote and flicked on the newly plugged in set. A talk show appeared on the screen, making Jon groan and loll his head backwards. On the host’s couch was the singer, ‘Shae’, she was all over the media these days, what with recently being paired with her Bound Soul, Tyrion, a nightclub owner. The couple were on every TV show, in every magazine, even landing advertising deals for ‘couples only’ resorts. It seems everyone was fascinated to hear about how they had found each other.

Everyone, except Jon.

Ghost came padding in to the room, his claws clicking against the hardwood floor that badly needed replacing. “Hey buddy, like the new place?” Jon asked, ruffling his hand through the dog’s scruff. Ghost snorted out a sneeze. “Yeah. It is a bit dusty isn’t it?”

Getting up with another groan, Jon went over to open a window, feeling Ghost trailing along behind him, whining and scratching at his leg. It had been so long since his last blackout, that Jon almost missed what his canine friend was trying to tell him.

_Oh!_

He whirled round and looked his dog in the eye, silently asking if his friend was sure. Ghost yapped back at him and Jon found himself almost welcoming the ground as it rushed towards him.

_I haven’t seen her in so, so long._

Humming. Beautiful sweet humming is what he heard first of all. Then there was the sound of running water, splashing off of something. His sight began to return and he saw expensive looking slate grey tiles with water droplets all over them.

Sansa started singing to herself and Jon felt a little dizzy from it. Her lovely voice echoing all around him in steam. She brought her arms out in front of herself and Jon saw her rub a foamy lather up and down her slender arms.

_She’s in the shower._

Sansa bent down and Jon saw her reach for the shower gel bottle that rested on the tiled floor.  _‘Lemon Burst’_ , he noted as she squeezed some of the pale yellow soap into her palm.

Then she looked down as she began to wash the rest of her body.

_Holy Shit!_

Sansa slipped her soapy hands over her breasts and stomach, the spray from the shower chasing the suds down her skin and to the floor where it swirled around the drain.

Jon knew it wasn’t right to look his fill of her body - but  _Gods_ , it’s not as if he could help it. It really wasn’t helping that he’d not had sex for quite some time, but he’s sure his reaction would have been the same regardless of that fact. He stared at her nipples, so dearly wanting to suck one into his mouth and swirl his tongue around it. It felt as if his mouth was watering at the very thought.

Sansa looked back to the tiles in front of her and Jon near enough whimpered. She carried on washing herself, facing forward, until her eyes closed and Jon was left in darkness once again.

_She’s probably ducking her head under the water jet._

“Mmmmm…”

_Or not._

He heard Sansa sigh rather sinfully and start get a little breathless.

_Gods! She’s…..she’s…_

Sansa opened her eyes and gazed down briefly, Jon saw one of her hands had disappeared down between her legs, the other was occupied as she pinched her nipple. Her breath hitched and she closed her eyes again.

_FUCK!_

“Not starting without me are you?” came a sudden male voice. Jon’s heart plummeted.

_What the?…No! Who’s this guy?!_

“Jaime!” Sansa yelped in surprise, turning around to see an older man getting into the shower. “I thought you wouldn’t be back for another hour?” Sansa obviously looked ‘Jaime’s’ body up and down because Jon got a particularly thorough eyeful.

_I did NOT need to see that!_

“I wrapped up the meeting early-” Jaime replied, pushing himself close to Sansa and ducking down to give her a kiss. If Jon could have looked away, he would have done at this point - all he could really do, was pray that he would come round from this blackout soon - although, this ‘Jaime guy did look oddly familiar to Jon, he just couldn’t figure out why. “Besides-” Jaime continued after their lips parted. He reached to grab something before looking down, Sansa followed his line of vision. “I couldn’t keep my little wolf waiting now could I?”

Jon saw how Jaime must have reached to pull Sansa’s leg, hitching it over his hip. To his surprise, she had a sizeable tattoo of a wolf on the top of her thigh - exactly where his strange rash had appeared and never left. Jon felt helpless and hopeless as he was forced to watch Jaime’s fingertips delicately trace the outside edge of the artwork on her skin.

The pair began kissing again and Jon was thankful that at least Sansa closed her eyes, even if he did have to endure some of the noises. Jaime broke the kiss and pressed his forehead to Sansa’s. There were water droplets littering his face as he caught his breath.

“When are you going to move in with me, love?” he breathed. Jon’s heart stopped.

Sansa pushed Jaime away a fraction. “You know why I can’t do that” shereplied sadly.

“Because of this  _‘soul’_  thing? Because of  _him_?”

Sansa sighed. “Yes, because of him. Because of Jon.”

“Sansa” Jaime started, reaching forwards to cup her face “you know that it’s very unlikely that you’ll ever meet him. Just because my brother managed to-”

“I know that” she muttered, shrugging off his touch and avoiding his eyes. “You said this ‘thing’ between us could be casual” she levelled with him.

Jaime stared at her a while, his green eyes intense and the muscle in his jaw ticking.

 _He doesn’t like sharing her with me_ , Jon realised.

“You two might not even  _like_  each other if you met. There’s been cases of-”

“I know, Jaime… I know” Sansa’s eyes dropped as she studied the last of the soap suds gathering around the drain. “You don’t understand” she said so softly that Jon was hardly able to hear her over the sound of the running water.

_No, he doesn’t. No one does. Only me. Only you._

Sansa’s focus returned to Jaime, standing naked and wet before her.

“ _You said_  that you don’t have many blackouts these days.  _You said_ they might eventually stop.”

“I had one today” she confessed “it was only quick. I….I think he was moving house…or…or helping someone to move house…there were boxes.”

Jon felt stunned. It was the same feeling he got every time he learnt something new about her. It was the same feeling he got when he heard her speak his name.

Jaime gave a her an echo of a smile. “You were never going to change your mind and be mine…were you? Not truly. I was a fool to think so.”

“I’m sorry” Sansa mumbled in a small voice. Jaime nodded to himself and turned to leave the shower cubicle.

Jon awoke with Ghost panting dog breath on his face feeling empty and alone in his run down house.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jon gets some coffee and like, nothing of interest happens. At all.

## Sansa Stark, Aged 26

 _Two years! Two whole years since I’ve had a blackout,_ Sansa thought as she re-read the last time she saw through Jon’s eyes in her journal.  _Gods! I hope he’s OK._

Sansa closed the book and tucked it back into the drawer of her vanity. Sitting up straight to regard herself in the mirror this morning. She glanced at her clock.  _8.02am. If I just do 5 minutes, I won’t be late._

Sansa had started the ritual of spending time in front of a mirror every day in the hopes that Jon might see her. All around her mirror were different coloured post-it notes with various methods in which he could get in touch with her. She had applied the same method about her house too - on her refrigerator, her brightly coloured letter magnets spelled out her full name and email address. In her lounge hung a little painting she had completed which had her phone number in big numbers accentuated with pretty little flowers. Her bathroom mirror was constantly sporting messages to Jon written in lip liner. Her friends thought she was nuts - Sansa didn’t care.

Her 5 minutes was soon up. She closed her eyes and sent a little prayer to the Gods that maybe this time, Jon had been looking through her eyes, seeing what she sees.

 _Right, now I really must go,_  she thought, straightening her jacket. She had an important meeting today with an Art Gallery who were interested in stocking some of her works and it wouldn’t do to be late. Sansa stood, only to sit back down again, feeling suddenly woozy. Thinking that perhaps she just got up too quickly, she hadn’t realised what was happening until she heard singing. Bad singing.

_Jon!_

Sansa heard a radio blasting and Jon trying and failing to keep up with the lyrics. He was pushing a roller up and down on the wall in front of him, coating it in thick, clean white paint.

Ghost suddenly yapped and came bounding over.

_Oh no Ghost! Don’t-_

The large dog jumped up, straining to lick and sniff at Jon’s face.

“Get off you great oaf!” Jon grumbled, trying to push his friend away. Sansa held her breath as she watched the dog’s paws dance around the paint tin resting on the new looking oak hardwood floor.

_Oh look out! You really should have put dust sheets down, Jon!_

Ghost jumped up again and was pushed down once more. Jon seemed to have noticed the tin of paint this time.

“ _Ghost!_  Stop it buddy!” he insisted, before muttering “I really should have put a dust sheet down or something.” Sansa would have laughed if she could.

She watched as the big dog tried his luck again, his paws braced on Jon’s chest as his tongue curled out to try and reach him.

 _Down Ghost!_ , she thought, and to her surprise, the dog relented.  _That’s weird_.

“Alright” Jon said, straightening his clothes “don’t try any more of that until I’m finished, you hear?” he waved his roller at the half painted wall. Ghost snorted and continued to stand there watching him as he painted.

Jon kept on glancing over at his dog, no doubt wondering why he didn’t have anything more interesting to do.

 _Hmmm… I wonder?…Ghost!_  The dogs ears pricked up.  _Sit!_ Sansa watched in awe as ghost complied to her command, whining softly as he parked his furry butt on the hardwood floor, wagging his tail and padding his front paws in excitement. _Holy shit!_ she thought, just as her vision blurred and she was brought back to her own body, crumpled on the floor, the side of her face pressed into the carpet near her vanity.

* * *

## Jon Snow, Aged 28

Jon wondered if he was a total real-life embodiment of a romantic cliche right now as he kept throwing covert glances at the cute redhead in the coffee shop that he was pretty sure he was already in love with.

_I’m sure I’ve seen you somewhere before._

She glanced over the top of the laptop screen she was working on, catching his eye and giving him a coy smile. Her eyes were the blue of a summer sky and her hair looked silky soft to touch. She wore a purple polar-neck sweater that complimented her red locks and Jon wasn’t 100% sure, but he suspects she might be sporting a few freckles.  _Gods!_  He was a sucker for freckles.

 _That’s it Jon - just be a total fucking creep staring at a pretty girl and drooling into your coffee._  He averted his eyes, cleared his throat and took a sip of his drink.  _It’s not like you can approach her anyway is it? It wouldn’t be fair - not on her, not on Sansa. It’ll end with someone getting hurt._

Like a magnet, he couldn’t help but be attracted back to the beautiful redhead though as his eyes honed in on her again. She gave him a shy smile and tucked some of her hair behind her ear. 

_Fuck. She’s gorgeous._

Jon shook his head of his thoughts and took the last gulp of his coffee before sliding out of the leather booth seating and grabbing his bag. He was attending a management training course today in Winter Town. Old man Mance was retiring in a months time and it was Jon whom he had chosen to replace him as head ranger at the reserve.

 _Goodbye beautiful_ , he thought as he was acutely aware of a set of bright blue eyes following him out of the coffee shop.  _I’m sorry, but I’m too fucked up for you._  He glanced back at her as he walked past the windowed frontage, she was giving him a sad, doe-eyed look as she watched him walk away.

 _Alright. Enough of that. Forget about the beautiful redhead._  Jon shook himself clear of his thoughts, pulling his phone out of his pocket to search for the address of the building he was heading for. A man tutted directly behind him as Jon stood still in the middle of the street, partially blocking the main thoroughfare. “Sorry” he muttered as the grumbling man barged past.

The street was bustling with people as Jon meandered through them. Trying to keep an eye out for the correct building and not bump in to anyone in the morning rush. he wasn’t used to this kind of hubbub during his working hour - you didn’t tend to get crowds at the nature reserve. Suddenly feeling like he may have gone a little too far and walked passed the place, Jon turned to double-back, knocking into a man before he had a chance to see him.

“Hey, watch it buddy!” the guy yelled.

“I’m sorr-” Jon started before his head was spinning as he collapsed on the pavement. 

Jon could hear the murmurings of different conversations, none of which, Sansa seemed to be part of, for he could not hear her voice. What he could hear however, was tapping. Fast tapping. And….a loud whooshing gurgle?

_Where is she?_

His vision slowly cleared in a swirly pattern that made him feel a little nauseous until it stilled. A computer screen was suddenly slammed shut and Jon saw Sansa’s polished fingernails tap on the closed laptop in front of her as if she were contemplating something. Her focus narrowed upon a barista behind a till area that was frothing milk at a large silver machine.

_That’s-….I swear that’s-…that’s the coffeehouse I was just at!!_

Sansa took a sip of her drink and swiped her phone from the table. Jon’s heart near stopped at the sight of her purple sleeve.

 _She has a purple sweater on!_  Jon thought, his brain connecting too many dots, all too fast.  _She’s….SHE’S THE BEAUTIFUL REDHEAD! SANSA IS THE BEAUTIFUL REDHEAD! THAT WAS SANSA! I SAW HER! OH GODS! I SAW HER! I WALKED RIGHT PAST HER!_

He watched helplessly, desperately urging his body to wake up as Sansa started typing out a text message to Marge…

 **Sansa:**  Am I mad for waiting for Jon?

_No! No you’re not! FUCK! I need to wake up! WAKE UP!_

**Marge:**  No sweetie. Why’d you ask?

 **Sansa:**  It’s just there was the really hot guy just now at the coffee shop and I was so tempted to go over and talk to him but I didn’t. Because of Jon.

_That was Jon! HE was Jon! I AM JON! Aaargh!!!_

**Marge:**  Sans, you deserve love and if you think that Jon could give you that, then you should keep looking for him.

 **Sansa:**  But what if I never find him? What if I could be happy with someone else? What if I could love someone else?

Jon could barely stand reading her words.  _WAKE UP! WAKE UP AND GET TO HER!!_

 **Marge:**  Do you think that you could?

_No! NO!_

**Sansa:**  I honestly don’t know. I don’t even know if it would work out between me and Jon if we ever found each other.

_It would! It would work out! It has to!_

“Hey, hey, are you alright?” he heard distantly as he felt hands on him, shaking him awake.

“Sansa” he mumbled into the cold concrete beneath his face. He ached everywhere but forced himself to sit up and find his balance as his head span.

_Come on! Get back to the coffee shop! Get to Sansa! SANSA! ACTUAL SANSA!_

“Hey, do you need to see someone?” A woman asked as she crouched down with a hand on his shoulder. Jon looked around, he seemed to have drawn quite the little crowd. Several concerned faces peered down at him.

“Should we call an ambulance?” another woman said.

“Are you with anyone? Can we call someone for you?”

“Did you hit your head?”

Jon screwed his eyes shut in a bid to stop the image of worried strangers from swimming and swirling about in his vision. He tried to stand, feeling a couple of hands help him up.

“Sansa” he groaned.

“Is she with you? Where is she?”

“The coffee shop” Jon lurched forward, only to find himself needing to grab a hold of a man before him to keep from falling again. “The coffee shop” he repeated before he began stumbling forwards, his head starting to clear as his footing became surer. He distantly heard protests from the group of worried strangers he was leaving behind but he didn’t have time to thank them or wave away their concerns.

He soon found himself sprinting through the throng of people, dodging them this way and that. Sometimes bumping right into them, only to shout an apology and continue to run. His legs couldn’t work fast enough. Every person in his way was an infuriating obstacle making him groan and growl and cuss under his breath.

_Get to the coffee shop - get to Sansa!_

_Get to the coffee shop - get to Sansa!_

Jon burst through the door violently, the bell above it tinkling as he panted, scanning for the beautiful redhead in the purple sweater. Scanning for Sansa.

Her table was empty.

_No! NO! NO! NO!_

He rushed over to the old man who was seated in the booth next to where Sansa had sat. “Where did she go?” he demanded, arms braced on the table, near enough knocking over the man’s drink.

“Where did  _who_  go?” the man spluttered.

“Sansa! She was here!” Jon indicated to the now vacant table. “HERE!” he gesticulated wildly “…She-she wore a purple top…she has red hair, blue eyes…” his words tumbled out in a rush, spilling all over the place. People began to stop and stare. “She’s beautiful!” he exclaimed. The old man continued to gape back at him, shaking his head. “ARRRGH!” Jon slammed his palm down on the table and stormed back out into the crowd.

Craning his head back and forth, he desperately tried to catch a glimpse of that copper red hair. He even got up on top of one of the chairs that the coffee shop had set up outside, thinking that perhaps he may be able to spot her if he could see over everyone’s heads.

 _Come on! Come on! Where are you?!_ Jon almost sobbed.

It was no use. She was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who is continuously leaving lovely encouraging comments on my fics! Love to you all!!
> 
> And to everyone who keeps shouting at me that they just want them to hurry up and meet already - but then the fic would be over!!! :-) And this is much more interesting! lol


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jon finds something out

## Jon Snow, Aged 29

Jon was angry. Angry at the world and frustrated. He’d tried everything he could think of to try and reach out to Sansa. He’d placed an ad in the newspaper. He’d made various posts on Bound Soul websites (although he suspects that Sansa was steering clear of those since that horrendous incident with ‘BoltonBoy’). He’d even left notices on the local bulletin boards at stores and community areas. And still,  _nothing_.

He hadn’t had a blackout since that day of the coffeehouse a year ago and he missed her.  _He missed her._  Was it so ridiculous to miss someone that you’ve never met?

Ridiculous or not, Jon felt like a heartbroken pining fool as he lounged around his house, completely ignoring the awful TV shows blaring in the background as he studied the ceiling.

Ghost came padding in, licking his lips from just having had a drink from his bowl, water droplets falling from his soggy muzzle.

“What am I gonna do buddy?” Jon asked his friend, sitting up from the couch. Ghost cocked his head to the side before wandering over to his doggy bed, padding around in a tight circle before finally settling down with a yawn.

“You’re no help” Jon grumbled, getting up to clear some dirty plates and general detritus from the coffee table - evidence of his day of moping about, feeling sorry for himself. Ghost’s head popped up with a whine in his throat, his tail began to thump against the dog bed as he watched Jon walk out to the kitchen.

“Oh no - no treats for you mate! You haven’t come up with any suggestions for my midlife crisis yet have you?” Ghost let out a single loud bark. “No use complainin’ buddy!” Jon halted midway out of the room, hands full of used crockery and food wrappers. “Look, either tell me that you’re gonna fork up half the mortgage, or help me find her because I could really do with some good news right about now, Ghost.”

With that, Ghost yapped again, springing up from his position on his bed, continuing to bark at Jon.

“Alright, alright! Calm down!”

Jon continued out to the kitchen, keen to leave his dog’s deafening barks behind. He dumped the dirty crockery on the kitchen counter and spun round to find Ghost had followed him. The dog whined and began to paw at Jon’s leg.

_Oh!…..OH!_

Jon quickly sat on the floor and stroked his big fluffy white friend before he felt himself slip down to the cold tilled floor.

“I can’t believe you’ve written all of these down!” Jon heard a woman say.

_I’m pretty sure that’s Margaery._

The scene before Jon melted into clarity. Sansa was pouring two glasses of wine, the light honey coloured liquid glugging out of the bottle.

“Hey!” She spun around and Jon saw that his guess had been correct - there on a couch was Margaery with her legs tucked up beneath herself and a book in her hand. Sansa set down the bottle and raced over to her friend, yanking the book from her grasp. “That’s private! Jon wouldn’t like anyone reading those! And stop rifling through my bag!”

_I wouldn't like her reading what?_

“Oh, what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him, darling!” Margaery laughed as she took the offered drink from Sansa.

“That’s not the point!”

Margaery dismissed Sansa’s statement with a roll of her eyes over the sip of wine she took. “Have you seen him have sex with someone else?” She pried, eyebrows raised in anticipation.

_Oh please Gods, no! Don’t let her have seen anything like that!_

“….sort of…”

Jon internally grimaced.

A wicked smirk crossed her friend’s face. “Have you seen him have sex with himself?”

There was a pause. A very long pause.

“YOU HAVE!” Margaery cackled.

_Oh SHIT!_

“Only once! Only once!” Sansa called over her friend shrieking and clapping happily. “It was when we were much younger. We were teens. He was a teen!” She defended. If Jon could groan right now, he would have. If Jon could smack himself in the head, he would have. If Jon could walk away from this conversation right now,  _he really would have_.

_Right! That’s it! No more wanking for me! I’m on a strict no-jerk policy from now on. Oh what a fun-filled life I will lead!_

“What else have you seen over the years? I bet there’s some really juicy stuff in that journal of yours!” Marge said excitedly, finally ceasing her laughter.

_She writes it all down?_

Sansa reached down between the cushions of the sofa to retrieve the journal from where she’d stuffed it out of her friends grasp. “I wouldn’t call it ‘juicy’ per se” she replied, opening up the book.

Jon saw her elegant handwriting across pages that were flipped altogether too fast for him to be able to fully read what it was she had witnessed. He glimpsed words or phrases but couldn’t properly comprehend the context with which they were written. What had she seen? What did she know of him?

She finally settled on a page and Jon could focus on the words.

 

> _Jon was packing boxes. He must be moving or helping someone to move. There was a lot of bubblewrap. He seemed to spend more time popping it than actually using it though. Ghost tried to lick his face._
> 
> _Jon was throwing a ball for Ghost but he didn’t want to chase it. He just wanted to lick Jon’s face off. They were in a wide grassy area._
> 
> _Jon was singing (terribly!) while painting a wall. The colour was white and the pot of paint was just there on the lovely wooden floor (no dust sheets!) Ghost came in and tried to lick Jon’s face like he usually does. I was worried about the paint spilling and tried to will Ghost to stop jumping up - he did! Then I thought the word ‘sit’ - and he sat! I wonder if Ghost can hear me when I’m with Jon? Maybe I should get a dog too? Would that help?_

Jon’s face felt numb. His nose twitched when a warm wet tongue slobbered across it.

“Eurgh! Ghost!” he grumbled as he sat up, wiping away dog saliva with the back of his hand. Jon was back on the floor of his kitchen - back in his home.

He stared at his canine friend intently, until his tail started to wag and his front paws danced about on the floor. Jon furrowed his brow.

“Do you….do you know when she’s in here boy?” he asked disbelievingly, tapping his temple with two fingers.

Ghost sat and tilted his head to the side as he regarded his master.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok people, I’m currently thinking that I might smoosh chap 9 and 10 together - so the next chap may well be the last :-)


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You guys are gonna hate me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah so - it'll be a 10 chap fic after all :-)

**Sansa Stark, Aged 27**

Weirwood Walk was only half a block away from Sansa's apartment, and was a frequent favourite of her new canine friend, Lady.

The autumn breeze rustled through the colourful leaves, picking up the ones that had floated down to the paved walkway, whipping them about hers and Lady's feet.

It was dusk, and Sansa loved that even though the days were getting shorter and the sun was being chased away much earlier, strings of as yet unlit lights were being hung from tree to tree. _The autumn and winter months always were the cosiest,_ Sansa thought, letting Lady off of her pink and purple lead before pulling her scarf up to under her nose.

Sansa spent months painstakingly researching the possibilities of dogs assisting their Bound Soul owners and looking into different breeds and whatnot. She had originally gone to Winterfell Animal Rescue to pick out a German Shepherd puppy (just like Jon's Ghost) - thinking that perhaps she could train it to help her with her blackouts (she also secretly hoped that the puppy might be able to sense when Jon was with her, like Ghost seems to do). But after seeing a litter of Husky pups and being set upon by a hoard of yipping, licking, wagging little balls of fluff, the mother of the litter came and calmly rested her head on Sansa's lap and she was a goner.

Lady had been a puppy farm rescue. There was no telling how many times the poor girl had been bred from for the illegal gain of heartless individuals. But Sansa just knew that she had to have Lady - and the feeling seemed to be mutual.

"Come on girl" she called, noting that the Husky was rolling around in the dirt directly in front of the Heart Tree again.

_She sure does favour that spot for some reason._

Sansa stared at the unblinking face of the Heart Tree. This was an ancient park - much bigger at one point, she's sure, but the city had grown up around it, tall multi-story buildings sprouting from the earth where once there were trees. The Heart Tree with its bright red leaves and knowing face watched over the park from its centre.

Not far from here lay the ruins of Winterfell Castle. Tumble-down, blackened stone is what's left of the ancient structure that Sansa is sure was once an impressive sight. She often imagines the feasts and dances that would have been held there in centuries past, when it was long-ago the seat of power for the whole of the North. It's not much of grand sight nowadays though with not many of the stone walls remaining. More often then not, it's the preferred haunt of drunks or groups of teenagers, but once a year, The Northern Heritage Trust holds a beautiful evening service with a candle-lit procession that starts at the ruins and ends here at the Heart Tree. The event is held as an act of remembrance of a great and terrible fire that engulfed the castle and also a nod towards the long forgotten and mostly unpractised religion of the Old Gods. However, somewhere along the line of history, a rumour of dragonfire and a great battle surfaced to add to the mythology of the castle's downfall. Many locals nicknamed the evening of the procession 'The Dragon Lights', but Sansa never put stock into those stories of mythical beasts. 

She tried to attend 'The Dragon Lights' every year, walking with others from the crumbling old stone walls, through cordoned off streets and on through to the park with a small lit candle in her gloved hands. Sansa was not a particularly religious woman, but there was just something appealing about the pretty dancing lights as the day faded into night, about walking with her friends and neighbours, and about honouring the practices of her ancestors at the Heart Tree.

"That dog sure does like this tree" came a man's voice, shaking Sansa of her thoughts. She searched for its owner - she saw an older man, sat on a bench, his elbows resting on his knees as smoke wafted from the cigarette between his fingers.

"Yeah - its her favourite" she smiled, looking back at Lady who was on her third lap of the Heart Tree, sniffing every bit of bark she could reach.

"Most of 'em don't like it on account o' the face" he commented, blowing smoke into the evening air.

"Not my Lady - she's a brave girl" Sansa replied proudly, stomping her tan leather boots, realising just how cold and dark it was getting. 

The old man smiled. "Dogs can be pretty smart. I reckon she's prayin' t' the Old Gods for somthin'" they both looked back to Lady, who had returned to rolling on her back in the dirt before the Heart Tree.

Sansa shoved her hands in her coat pockets "either that or she's found some fox poo" she grimaced, remembering the last time Lady had done just that. The old man threw back his head in laughter that seemed to warm the night.

"Aye. They do like doing that!" he said with a chuckle. "One young lad who worked with me takes his clever mutt everywhere - I've lost count o' the times he'd had to hose the stinkin' beast down, poor lad. Good lad he was - a man now. Don't see much o' him nowadays on account o' bein' retired an all" the man shrugged, staring at the paved walkway at his feet sadly. Sansa stood there, not quite knowing what to say before his nodding head came up to look at her again. "Don't get old lass - it's not much fun. I'd rather be out there doing things than restin' for the remainder of my days." Sansa answered him with a small smile. "Aye. If I had one thing to ask of the Old Gods, it would be t' never grow old with weak knees and sorry lungs" he wheezed for emphasis.

"Those aren't going to help" Sansa jested with a raised brow and a nod towards the cigarette in his hand. The old man chuckled.

"Aye, you're right lass" he said, stubbing the cigarette out on the bench. His hand disappeared into his jacket and pulled out the packet. He shook out another cig and held it between his lips "But who's going to deny an old man a little pleasure in the last years o' his life ay?" He said, the cigarette bobbing up and down as he talked. The mans hands had been searching every pocket on his body, patting down his clothing until he came upon what he was looking for, pulling out a lighter and cupping it from the evening breeze as he lit the end of his cigarette. He puffed more smoke before talking again. "What about you? What would you ask of the Old Gods?"

Sansa absentmindedly watched the glow of the end of the man's cig as the smoke wafted and disappeared.

_I know what I'd pray for._

She cleared her throat and shuffled her boots a little on the pavement, glancing down at the multicoloured leaves all wet and stuck to the walkway. "Happiness" she proclaimed with surety "I'd pray for happiness."

The old man smiled widely and nodded his approval "A very wise choice. I hope you find it." 

With that, the strings of lights among the trees and lamp post abruptly blinked on, illuminating the walkway, making the park look cozy and beautiful. Sansa and the old man smiled as they looked around, taking in the glow of the lights. "Maybe the Old Gods are listening" he commented.

After a few more minutes of pleasant chit-chat, Sansa called for Lady and bid the man a good evening, smiling at the couples and other dog walkers as she made her way out of the park.

Remembering that she'd forgotten to check her mailbox this morning, Sansa scooped up the many articles of junk mail and the odd bill once she and Lady made it back to her building. Flicking through the pile as they climbed the stairs, mentally deciding which items to bin, they bumped into Gendry, her neighbour. Lady's tail began wagging furiously as she strained on the lead to get a good sniff of their friend.

"Hey Sans" he called, alerting her to his presence on the stairwell.

"Oh! Hey! Sorry - world of my own" she laughed, waving her wad of envelopes.

Gendry returned a smile and crouched down to welcome Lady. "And how's my furry buddy?" He was rewarded with being knocked on his ass as the dog jumped on him, wanting to play. "You all ready for your big trip?" he asked once he'd managed to push off Lady's eager attentions and get back to his feet.

Sansa groaned internally. She was to fly to Dorne in the morning - an Art Gallery chain down there had expressed an interest in exhibiting her newest collection 'Winter is Here' and she was all kinds of nervous. At least her mother was going with her - and extending the trip to a two week holiday.

"No - still got far too much packing to do!...Are you sure that you're alright to have Lady for me while I'm gone?"

That had been another thing Sansa had worried over, she had never left Lady with anyone but family before, but Gendry seemed keen to help her out. And besides, the dog loved him.

"Yeah, yeah! It's totally fine Sansa! Looking forward to it, actually!" he said quickly, leaning down to pat the husky again. "Umm....I was kind of wondering if maybe I should take the phone number of someone - you know, in case of a dog-related emergency...umm....someone like....you're sister?...maybe?"

Sansa laughed as she watched Gendry's face slowly turn a shade of scarlet. "Arya?.. You know, if you just wanted to ask her out, I'm sure she'd be receptive."

"Really?" he asked hopefully, making Sansa's smile turn fond and warm.

"Yes" she nodded "there's no need for a dog-sitting ruse, I'm pretty sure I saw her checking out your butt the last time she was over and we met you coming in from your run."

He beamed back at her, obviously pleased with this new bit of information. "Thanks Sansa!...and I really don't mind having Lady for you. We're gonna have a great time aren't we girl?" He said, returning to his crouching position to fuss over the dog.

After getting into her little one bed apartment, Sansa let go of Lady's lead, letting the husky trot off to her water bowl with the pink and purple bit of leather trailing along behind her. She threw her handbag on the floor and slumped back against the closed front door to execute a rather dramatic and yet satisfying groan of resignation.

 _Gendry would be perfect for Arya_ , she mused with a small smile. It wasn't that she would not be happy for her sister - just that she wasn't sure when that very same happiness could become a reality for herself. Her mind kept flip-flopping and falling through 'what-ifs' whenever she pondered her love-life (past and prospective).

There was the issue of Jon. There will _always be_ the issue of Jon. But what with her blackouts becoming few and far between, she wondered if they might soon be stopping altogether.

_What if they have already stopped and I never have another? Would I know? Would I feel any different? Would our souls still be bound together?_

_My life would be simpler. But.....we ARE bound....a part of him will always be with me and me with him. Is it fair to expect someone else to just accept that?_

Sansa pushed off from leaning on the door and went to her bedroom to fish out her suitcase from beneath her bed. She opened it and began packing for her trip to Dorne, muttering to herself about how many clothing options she might want or which jewellery she should take. Lady came bounding in and decided to run in circles around Sansa's legs as she had an armful of folded clothes.

"Lady! Kind of busy here girl, I can't play right now."

The dog ignored her mistress and continued boisterously looping around her legs, snorting excitedly. Sansa dumped the clothes rather unceremoniously into the awaiting suitcase and bent to unclasp Lady's lead that was still attached. She picked up one of Lady's many squeaky toys from the floor, gave it a couple of quick squeaks and threw it out of her bedroom door, expecting Lady to take chase - but she didn't. The dog only glanced behind her at the toy, bouncing away in the hall before looking back up at Sansa and cocking her head.

_That's weird. that's one of her favourite t-_

Sansa's head hit the carpet before she had a chance to finish her thoughts. 

"Yeah, can I get a Large Mighty Meaty Pizza, a side of Spicy Wedges and a large coke please mate" Sansa heard before her vision became clear and she could survey the scene before her. Jon's socked feet were propped up on the coffee table - the coffee table that was littered with newspapers, dirty plates and few empty beer bottles. There was a football game on the TV, the bright green of the pitch was almost blinding against the dim light of the one lamp that he had on in his lounge "Yep-yep, usual address" she heard him say as he briefly scratched his crotch through his grey sweatpants.

 _Charming_ , Sansa thought with a chuckle.

Sansa watched as Jon hung up his call with what was obviously his usual pizza delivery place. He scrolled through his contacts and landed on one called 'Grenn', Jon's thumb tapped the call icon and then the phone disappeared from Sansa's view. Sansa looked around his lounge as she heard the _ring ring_ of his phone call. It looked like Jon had finished painting the walls (and there didn't seem to be any paint spills evident on the floors) but the furniture was a bit scarce and plain.

_He needs some things up on the walls, some photos or paintings or-_

"Whadup dickhead" came the voice over the phone that Sansa didn't recognise.

"Charming. Is that any way to speak to your boss?" Jon replied with a chuckle.

"So you coming to Sam's for poker night tonight or what?" Sansa heard 'Grenn' ask, completely ignoring Jon's question.

"Shit!" Jon's head fell back and Sansa was suddenly looking at his ceiling "I forgot about polker night! I just ordered pizza!"

"Eh" Sansa could practically hear Jon's friend shrug "we could come to yours."

"Mine?" Jon lifted his head and took in the state of his lounge.

_Yeah, you might want to tidy before having company, Jon._

 "My place is a state."

"Well get your rubber gloves and maid outfit on and get t' cleanin' mate, 'cause I need to win back that 40 dragons from last week."

Just then, Ghost ran in and bounced up onto the sofa next to Jon. He began sniffing and licking at Jon's face.

 _Oh here we go again_ , Sansa thought with amusement. _Good boy! Oh I missed you, Ghostie!_ The dog's tail seemed to wag even more furiously as Jon tried to push his canine friend away.

"Yeah-yeah, I'll clean up" he said down the phone whilst still trying to fend off his dog with one hand. "Just gimme a little while and bring the beers and-" Jon froze and turned to look at Ghost who was padding his front paws excitedly on the sofa cushions. "I gotta go" he said into the phone before hanging up and putting it on the table.

"Ghost?" Jon said to his dog "Ghost, is.....is Sansa here?"

Sansa felt like her heart had stopped and her chest was holding her breath captive.

"Is she here buddy?" she saw him raise his hand and suspected that he tapped at his temple or head.

 _Yes,_ she thought in shock. _I'm here._

Ghost let out a little gruff bark that was half snort.

"Okay-okay, err...." Jon stared at his coffee table for a bit before returning to his dog "Sansa?.....If...If you're there...umm... _fuck!_ This is insane, I'm talking to myself!"

_No you're not! You're not! I'm here!"_

"Okay, lets try.....ahhh....Sansa, if you're there....uh...tell Ghost to do something."

 _Ghost,_ she thought with her most commanding inner voice.  _Ghost, SIT._

The dog licked his lips and sat on the sofa, looking at Jon expectantly. Jon leapt up from his seated position. " _Oh shit!_ Okay, err... _shit!..._ Uhh...tell him to do something else."

Sansa focused all of her attention on the dog who was cocking his head adorably up at Jon. _Ghost! DOWN!_ She watched as he alighted the sofa and sat at Jon's feet, looking up with a tongue lolling out the side of his mouth, his tail thumping on the floor. _SPEAK_ , she thought, and Ghost complied with a short sharp bark. Jon practically jumped backwards, knocking into the coffee table. _Ghost! LAY DOWN!_ Sansa watched as the white dog did as he was bid. _ROLL OVER._ Ghost rolled over, showing his belly as he stared up at Jon.

 _"Fuck!_ Oh God! Okay...ahhh....final test" Jon said to the room "tell him to go fetch his L E A D" he spelled out.

 _Ghostie! Where's your lead boy? Go get it! Go get your lead!_ Ghost yipped and trotted off excitedly only to return with a brown leather lead in his mouth, trailing along the floor. _GOOD BOY!!_ Sansa's heart rate was through the roof and she swore she could feel goosebumps on her skin.

"You're here? You're really here?!" Jon exclaimed excitedly. Sansa saw his hands held out in front of him as he asked her the question that she couldn't answer. He started pacing, Ghost followed him around the room, lead still in his mouth "I errr.....I saw you once - for real, I mean...it was- it was at that coffee shop by Weirwood Walk, well, it-it used to be a coffee shop - it's a clothing store now, you were wearing purple and I didn't know it was you and- and- shit! I'm rambling, I'm sorry!" 

Sansa felt like giggling, she felt like grinning widely, she felt like launching herself at him to wind her arms around his neck and feel the warmth of his body against hers - but she couldn't do any of that.

Jon halted his pacing, somehow he'd made it out to a hallway. "I had a blackout and that's when I found out it was you at the coffee-" he had walked past a large mirror on the wall as he continued to babble to himself before stopping and coming back to stand square on with the mirror.

_Oh my! It's you! It's really you! That's what you look like!_

"So err...this is me" he said, gesturing to his reflection "Shit" he muttered after taking himself in, he discarded the glasses he was wearing and tried to tame his wild dark curls that were reaching out in all kinds of angles. "Fuck!...I mean - sorry!....I just would've liked to look my best when you saw me."

_Oh TRUST me, you have nothing to worry about! And.....you look...familiar._

Jon stared at himself, a look of awe dawning on him "Sansa.... you looked so fucking beautiful in that coffee shop...I would have approached you but-" his voice started to become muffled and thick like her ears were rapidly filling up with cotton wool. "Meet me-" she could just about make out.

_No!! Meet you where?! WHERE?!_

"Meet me........My full name is..... Sansa, please meet me.....I'll be waiting."

Sansa awoke with tears of frustration already preparing to fall. She dragged herself up using her bed and flung herself back upon it to stare at the ceiling.

 

 


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jon waits for Sansa.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys. This is a long chapter. 
> 
> *chucks chapter at you and runs away to hide, hoping she hasn't made it too cheesy*

**JON SNOW**

Jon turned the watercolour paint set over in his hands as he sat on the bench near the Weirwood Walk Heart Tree. He’d hastily wrapped it in some plain gold wrapping paper he had found in a drawer that night almost two weeks ago when he’d bailed on poker night - the night he had spoken to Sansa.

Since then, his mother had added a purple ribbon from her craft stash to the gift. Jon had picked the colour.

He let the silky scrap of fabric slip through his fingers a few times, lost in his own thoughts as strings of illuminated lights surrounded him overhead. The park felt surprisingly cozy considering the chilly autumn air. Fallen leaves decorated the paved walkway in shades of yellows, reds and amber.

“Penny for your thoughts?” came a familiar voice. Jon looked up with a tight smile for his oldest friend. “She’ll come - I just know it” Sam said, patting him on the shoulder as he seated himself next to Jon on the bench.

“Will she? It’s been nearly two weeks” Jon muttered, turning his glum attention back to the wrapped paint set in his hands.

Sam rubbed his gloved hands together and pulled the collar of his coat further up his neck. “Perhaps she’s moved away from the North since you saw her in the coffee shop? It might not be so easy for her to get here.”

Jon said nothing for a while as he fingered the purple ribbon, his gaze intent on the gift. Couples passed them arm in arm as Ghost came padding up to greet Sam with a head resting on his knee. The big white dog was rewarded with a scratch behind the ear. “Or maybe she’s with someone? Maybe she’s happy without ever meeting me and doesn’t want to complicate her life?” Jon mused out loud.

“You said that she writes all her blackout insights down?” Sam asked. Jon nodded to the paint set. “That doesn’t sound like someone who wouldn’t want to meet her Bound Soul to me.”

Jon sucked in a heavy breath. “Maybe.....maybe, when she saw me in that mirror, I didn’t live up to her expectations.”

“Well now you’re just being ridiculous, Jon.”

Jon snorted softly but he didn’t completely dismiss the notion. “I don’t know Sam, I’ve been waiting here every evening for a couple of hours for days. I don’t know when either of us is going to have another blackout - it could be years! Do I just keep coming back? Or should I give up now?”

“LADY!”

Both men’s heads snapped up to see a husky dog bounding hastily towards them. Ghost yipped in excitement and left them to greet the newcomer.

Jon pocketed the paint set as he recognised both the dog and the man chasing after her, giving them a smile and raised brow in greeting.

“Hey” Gendry wheezed as he reached them, panting swirls of hot breath into the cold evening air.

Jon chuckled. “How you doing, mate? She give you the slip again?”

Gendry shook his head incredulously at the two dogs who were excitedly sniffing and circling each other with wagging tails.

“I swear she knows your dog is gonna be here, man” he said as his breathing started to return to normal. “She’s like this perfect, calm little lady whenever I walk her anywhere else or when we’re here in the mornings - but as soon as she gets a whiff of him-“ Gendry points a finger at Ghost who was sniffing at Lady as she rolled on her back “- she takes off like a rocket!”

Jon had met Gendry on that first evening when he’d headed out to the meeting place he had suggested to Sansa - the Heart Tree at Weirwood Walk. He’d been a bag of nerves that evening and hadn’t noticed the husky dog until she was practically on him, jumping up with paws on his stomach, straining to sniff him all over.

He’d made distracted small talk with Gendry, commenting with a smirk at the husky’s pink and purple collar, studded with rhinestones. It was then that Gendry explained that he was just dog sitting for a friend. They’d seen each other nearly every evening since then, with Gendry under the impression that Jon was merely walking Ghost, not waiting with rapidly draining hope that one night, she might turn up.

“Yeah. They seem quite enamoured with one another” Jon commented, watching the dog’s playful interactions under the illuminated trees. “Her owner coming back soon?”

“Tomorrow, actually” Gendry nodded.

“Ah that’s a shame, you won’t get to see how the romance unfurls” Jon quipped, raising his eyebrows at the dogs.

Gendry chuckled, his breath coming out as steam as he adjusted his scarf. “Actually, you might catch me here one more night. I’m planning on taking someone to The Dragon Lights tomorrow.”

“A date?”

Gendry knit his brows together and nodded to himself “yeah....kind of...at least I’d like it to be....is that lame?”

Both Sam and Jon shook their heads. “I think it’s rather romantic actually, with the lights and the candles and such” Sam commented. “And of course, the procession will end at the Heart Tree” he waved in the direction of the watching face on the bark “which is where couples were traditionally wedded.”

“Well - one step at a time, eh?” Gendry laughed.

“I’m sure it’ll be fine, mate” Jon offered.

“Err...guys? Do you wanna maybe do something about that?” Sam interrupted, pointing at the dogs in front of them. Ghost had one paw slung over Lady’s back and her scruff held in his jaws as he seemed to be attempting to mount her.

“Shit!” Both Jon and Gendry shouted at once.

“Ghost no!” Jon leapt up and dragged his dog off the other. Both dogs whined their protests, Ghost strained against his masters hold on his collar. “Sorry boy, but I don’t think Lady’s owner would thank me if the poor girl has more pups.”

“No, me neither if it happens on my watch!” Gendry commented whilst clipping Lady’s lead to her collar. “I don’t even know if she’s been spayed” he muttered to himself, trying to calm Lady’s protests and pulls on the lead as she tried desperately to get back to Ghost. “I think I’d better get on” he called to the two men as he started making a move towards the park gates. “See you around.”

“Good luck for your date!” Sam called after him. Gendry turned and gave them a parting nod as Jon returned to Sam on the bench with Ghost still straining in his grasp, trying desperately to get free and bound after Lady.

“I’d forgot about The Dragon Lights procession” Jon commented after Gendry and lady were out of sight and Ghost had calmed down.

Sam looked thoughtfully at his life-long friend “You still going to come and wait for her?”

Jon shrugged.

****************************

**SANSA STARK**

The trip to Dorne had mostly been a success as far as managing to secure a contract with a couple of Art Galleries down there. The only two things that had put a dampener on the excursion had been Sansa’s slightly sun-reddened shoulders and her woes over Jon.

Her mind was never far from wandering into ‘Jon-territory’ whilst she had been away with her mother, and no amount of cocktails by the pool could remedy that.

_Where did he want to meet me? What if he thinks I purposely stood him up?_

“Penny for your thoughts?” Her Mum asked, nudging Sansa’s side as they sat on the flight home. Sansa sighed and plastered a smile upon her lips as she turned to face her Mum.

“The usual.”

Catelyn nodded knowingly and plucked her daughter’s journal from her hands “Perhaps there’s a clue or two in here to help you f-“

“Mum! That’s private!” Sansa snatched it back before her mother’s hands that were flicking through the pages could still enough for her to read any of the scribbled words.

“All I’m saying is that it’s not a lost cause, darling” she pursed her lips in thought as she regarded her daughter. “What about trying that website out again?”

“Mum, you know what happen-“

“Yes-yes, but you’ve seen him now Sansa! You would know straight away if it were Jon or not.”

Sansa let her head fall back against the headrest. “Maybe.”

The flight hadn’t been terribly long but Sansa felt wiped out and was already daydreaming of her bed before she stepped out of the cab into the chilly Northern air and then into her building. She lugged her suitcase up the two flights of stairs and felt almost out of breath as she reached her apartment door. 

 _I'll just drop off my things and then collect Lady from Gendry's_ , she thought to herself as the key turned in the lock. Once inside, Sansa was greeted with the unexpected noise of a football game blaring out of her TV.

_What the-?_

"Hey Sans" her sister called nonchalantly from the sofa as she pointed the remote at the screen and flicked from one channel to another, not bothering to look away from the TV.

"Ayra? What are you doing here?" Sansa asked, finally putting her suitcase down.

"I think Gendry asked me out."

"I knew he would" Sansa smirked as she unwrapped her long scarf from around her neck. "But why are you _here_?"

"Got here a bit too early. Didn't want to seem too keen, so I used my key to let myself into your place" Arya shrugged, her arm still outstretched, with the TV remote in her grasp.

Sansa furrowed her brow as she unbuttoned her coat. "I've never known you to care about what a guy might think about you."

"I don't" she shrugged once more, but Sansa caught a slight shift in her eyes form the side, and a hint of blush high on her cheeks.

"You _like_ him don't you?!"

"No" Arya snapped stubbornly.

Sansa grinned a wicked grin. Despite feeling supremely tired, she would always have energy for sisterly teasing. "You do! _You like him-like him!"_

Arya turned to glare up at her sister. Sansa half expected to be told to _'fuck off'_  , or have a cushion thrown at her head. But instead, Arya's expression crumbled and she averted her gaze to timidly pick at the fringed edge of Sansa's throw blanket on the back of the sofa. "Maybe...I like him...a bit" she confessed in a mumble.

"Uh-huh" Sansa nodded, folding her arms. "And the rest."

Arya ignore her comment. "Sans....do I look alright?" She gestured down to her jeans and fitted t-shirt.

Sansa unfolded her arms and sat down next to her sister. "You look beautiful, Arya" she declared sincerely. "Where is he taking you?" Arya groaned and fell back onto the sofa, throwing her hands over her face. "What?"

"The Dragon Lights" Arya murmured from behind her hands.

Leaning over her sister, Sansa pried her hands away from her face by her wrists. "And what's wrong with The Dragon Lights? It sounds romantic."

"But is that even a date though?"

Sansa answered Arya's question with a confused expression.

"Like, did he ask me to go with him to walk The Dragon Lights as a cute romantic date, or is it just a friends thing? I can't tell!" She stood and began pacing, her sister watching her make the short circuit around her coffee table as she thought out loud. "This would be so much easier if he'd just asked me to dinner....or the cinema.....or to fucking make-out-point!"

Sansa scoffed at that "What are you? 16?" she quipped as she pulled off her boots and tucked her legs up on the sofa.

"You know what I mean" Arya snapped with a roll of her eyes before she froze and turned to face Sansa. "Come with us!"

"What?"

"Come with us, please Sansa! I don't want to make a fool of myself thinking it's a date if it's not!"

"Oh sure! Being a third wheel on your romantic candle-lit stroll sounds like the first thing I'd wanna do after a flight" Sansa said sarcastically.

"Pleeeease Sans! If it's looking like it might be romantic, then you can slip away into the crowd! If not, then we're just three friends-"

"And a dog"

"Just three friend - _and a dog_ \- joining in The Dragon Lights procession!"

"Arya, I'm pretty sure it's a date. Gendry's tongue was hanging out when you were round the other day and he saw you in your work out gear" she leveled.

Arya stopped her pacing and turned to face her sister with a pleading look upon her face. "Sansa, pleeeeeease!" the two sisters continued to stare one another down, one silently begging, and the other wearing a look of fatigued contemplation. "You'll need to walk Lady anyway" Arya added.

"Urgh. Fine" Sansa gave in "but the first sign of him giving you anything remotely like 'heart-eyes' and I'm disappearing to mingle with the crowd."

"Thank you Sansypants!" Arya laughed, launching herself at her big sister for a hug.

 ********

If Sansa was being completely honest, she would say that she was too busy fussing on her girl, Lady to notice whether or not Gendry was at all put out by her joining them.

Arya shot her sister a look of askance as they stood at Gendry’s doorway, waiting for him to don his coat and boots. Sansa shrugged and shook her head, still far too interested in showering her dog with affection.

“Sans!” Arya hissed in a sharp whisper. “Well? Did he look annoyed or pleased that you’re coming tonight?!” Sansa shrugged again from her crouched position as her hands continued to ruffle Lady’s fur. “You’re no help at all!” Arya muttered before having to school her expression into an over-the-top smile once Gendry rejoined them.

They strolled pleasantly together, passing storefronts - most of them dim and already closed for the night, the odd restaurant or coffee shop still full of life and light. Sansa could see the dark silhouette of the crumbled castle ruins nearing against the backdrop of the evening sky. A scene tinged with navy, mauve and orange.

Gendry made comfortable small talk with them both, but it was clear to Sansa that he would rather focus his attention on her sister. She made a mental note to give them the slip with Lady once the procession got going.

All around them, participants of The Dragon Lights began gathering and being drawn to the Winterfell ruins, being drawn like moths. Once they had made it to within the fallen stone walls, everyone waited for the organisers to begin the event.

Lady whined impatiently at Sansa’s feet, clearly none too comfortable with the amount of people stood around them. The site of the ruins was open to the chilly evening air, with no roof structure above them and grass underfoot, the ancient stone floor having been buried under vegetation long ago.

Sansa always enjoyed visiting the site of the castle ruins, and tonight was no exception. The Northern Heritage Trust had decorated some of the stones with candles, all flickering their pleasant glow at different heights along the walls, throwing dancing shadows of the crowd all around them.

The air was cold but merry as people chatted and adjusted scarves, hats and gloves to better protect them from the elements. Sansa could already taste the sweetness of the hot chocolate that was always handed out at the end of the procession at the Heart Tree.

“Are you joining in with the lights?” An older, red cheeked woman asked them before handing out candles after they’d hastily nodded and handed over their donations. She lit Arya’s and scurried away to the next group of people, leaving them to spread the flame amongst their candles. Sansa swore that her sister almost giggled as she helped to light Gendry’s wick.

_Definitely slipping away. First discreet chance I get._

A deafening high pitched screeching tone pierced the evening chatter as a megaphone was switched on. Practically every person in the crowd winced at the noise. Lady yapped irritably.

Everyone’s attention was on the gentleman welcoming them to this years procession, relating to them the same route used every year and thanking them for their donations.

“You know, people used to get married at the Heart Tree” Sansa caught Gendry murmuring to Arya, his head bent down to her ear. Both her sister and her neighbour then proceeded to flush a crimson red that was not due to the cold weather. Their conjoined embarrassment was clear in the flickering light of the candles in their hands. “I mean, not that we’re-“ he gestured between the two of them, shaking his head desperately “- I wasn’t thinking of-“

“That’s right” Sansa smiled, deciding to save the guy from tying his tongue in knots “and traditionally, the groom would wait for his bride at the Heart Tree.”

Gendry swallowed down his nerves and gave Sansa a grateful nod and a smile “yeah...it’s just... ahh... _interesting_ , is all I meant”.

“Okay, everyone who wants a candle has got one, yes?” The man with the megaphone called “alright! Follow me folks!”

The crowd slowly filtered out of the stone ruins, taking their little glowing flames with them. They made their way through a few cordoned off streets, the oldest ones still sporting cobbles - dangerous to anyone donning heels (Sansa has had first hand experience of that particular hazard and was thankful of the flat boots she was wearing.)

Looking ahead, she could see a train of warm wool hats, glimmering candle flames and the odd guide sporting a brightly coloured tabard with The Northern Heritage Trust logo proudly on display.

The Old Gods did not ask their followers to recite practiced prayers or sing any hymn, but The Dragon Lights always featured a band of twenty or so children from a local school - all tooting a song into their recorders from their position at the head of the procession. Passers by stopped and stood to the side to watch the trail of little luminous candles - some even joined the end of the procession.

The night seemed to descend quickly upon them, the sky now a deep indigo. They passed under an illuminated streetlight, and that was when Sansa saw it - just a few fluttering white flakes at first, but by the time they reached the next flood of lamplight, the fall had already become heavier, Sansa even noticed it gathering upon the head and shoulders of the people in front.

_Snow!_

She glanced down to see a slight dusting of white decorating Lady’s fur as the dog chomped her jaws excitedly, trying to catch a taste of the falling flakes. Sansa smiled and ruffled a gloved hand over her dog’s head as she noticed that the pavement was still wet underfoot.

 _I hope the snow will settle,_ she thought, looking back up to the sky and then to her human companions.

Arya murmured something to Gendry that had made his face split into a wide grin, a chuckle escaped his lips along with a swirl of hot breath. Noticing that her sister now had her arm looped around Gendry’s and the ‘pleased as punch’ expression that seemed to elicit from him, Sansa could not help but smile.

She pressed forward into the crowd as the procession passed under the wrought iron gates of Weirwood Walk, trying to put some distance between herself and the couple that were quite clearly on a definite date.

“Come on Lady” she cooed, weaving on ahead, quite happy to reach her favourite part of the night.

The park looked spectacular with all the strings of bright bulbs reaching out from tree to tree. The snowfall seemed heavier here somehow, although still gentle. It felt as though the Old Gods were trying to shower their own decoration onto the night of The Dragon Lights. Two young children rushed passed with fizzing sparklers waving in their hands, their laughter still ringing and paths still glowing after they’d disappeared from sight.

Sansa managed to merge in with the crowd and lose sight of her sister and neighbour fairly quickly. She smiled to herself and hummed along to the tune carried in the air from the children playing their instruments ahead and looked forward to the odd hot food and drink cart that was normally set up at the end of the procession, close to the Heart Tree.

_Hmmm should I treat myself to a hot chocolate or a warm spiced wine?_

Just then, Lady yipped and started to pull on her leash, yanking Sansa along and straining against her hold.

“Lady! Stop that!” She said, tugging on the lead, her normally perfectly calm dog whining and wagging her tail as her front paws lifted off of the wet ground in her effort to keep pushing ahead.

“She’s keen!” An older woman laughed beside her as they happened to be walking side-by-side.

“Yeah” Sansa smiled, still struggling with the lead in one hand and her candle in the other “she’s not normally- _LADY!_ ” Her dog shot off ahead into the crowd as soon as Sansa’s grip faltered. “LADY!!” She yelled again before trying to push her way past the people in front to make chase.

“LADY! _COME BACK!_ ” Sansa called over the sound of the children’s songs as she bobbed and weaved through the throng of people, throwing out apologies when she nudged or got too close for comfort to a flame here and there. She could see the Heart Tree growing nearer as she desperately tried to find her friend, the crimson red leaves dotted with the odd twinkle of illuminated light.

“LADY! LA-“ the last thing she saw before the glow of The Dragon Lights faded into black nothingness was her own candle rolling out of her hand, the flame extinguishing upon contact with the same cold wet pavement that was under her cheek.

*******

“The snow’s getting heavier now. You don’t have to wait with me mate, why don’t you get home to Gilly and the baby?” Sansa heard Jon say as he turned to his friend.

 _Sam,_ she thought, taking in the red cheeked, portly man with his scarf pulled up under his nose as he rubbed his gloved hands together.

“Nah. I’m alright” he shook his head before inclining it off towards a different direction “besides, I might get a hot chocolate in a minute.”

Sansa saw Jon make a nodding motion before she noticed the twinkling strings of lights, or the music from the children approaching them, or the snow, or the food and drink carts, or the red leaves of the Heart Tree.

 _He’s.....Oh my God!_ Her mind whirred at a lightning pace as she pieced everything together. 

“Here they come” Sam said, shoving his hands in his pockets and bouncing on his feet. Jon turned to see the incoming procession of people. A herd of happy faces and candlelight preparing to surround the Heart Tree, drink a hot drink, and listen to the event organisers recite their passage about the history of these lands.

_Jon is...Jon is HERE! HE’S HERE! HE'S AT THE HEART TREE!!_

“Hey, isn’t that that dog from yesterday?” Sam pointed out with a furrowed brow as Lady came bounding out from amongst the crowd of happy people, tongue lolling from her mouth as she headed directly for them.

_LADY!_

“Lady?” Jon said as if asking the dog herself the question “what are you doing here girl?” He murmured, crouching down to pat the dog and take ahold of her leash that had been trailing along the wet floor.

_YOU KNOW LADY? YOU KNOW **MY LADY?!**_

“Gendry must be here with his date somewhere” he mused as he stood, Lady and Ghost greeting each other with sniffs and snorts at his feet. Jon scanned the incoming crowd as Sansa’s heart stuttered inside her chest.

_Wake up! WAKE UP! WAKE. UUUUP!_

There seemed to be a bit of a bottleneck of crowd congestion to the procession as a group of people gathered in one particular spot on the path. Sansa heard some people murmuring questions as they passed by Jon and Sam.

“What’s the hold up?”

“Is something wrong?”

“What’s going on over there?”

There was a sudden shout from somewhere “IS THERE A DOCTOR HERE? _WE NEED A DOCTOR OVER HERE PLEASE!”_

“Shit” Sam exclaimed before bursting into a sprint towards the gathering of on-lookers. The band of school children ceased their playing and the air was replaced with concerned mutterings. Jon followed his friend into the crowd.

“I’m a doctor, let me through!” Sam called as he side stepped passed members of the procession, Jon trailing behind him with both dogs. “Okay, what’s happened here?”

“She was trying to get through and she just fell....I think she fainted" came a strangers voice.

“Alright, did she hit her head?” Sam asked as he ushered the crowd to give him some space and crouched down over a woman laid on her side on the wet ground, her copper hair spilling out all around her head.

_Oh my gods.......That's..... that's me._

“Sam? What can I do to hel-“ Sansa heard Jon say as he neared his friend and the collapsed girl - as he neared _her_. He sucked in a sharp breath and it seemed like the world froze in time.

Jon stared at Sansa’s face, looking serene as if merely in sleep there on the cold hard path, her creamy skin gathering flakes of soft falling snow, gently melting away on her cheek and staying a little while longer on her closed lashes.

Jon stood stock-still as Sansa stared through his eyes at her own lifeless looking body, sprawled out on the sodden floor. Time seemed to pause - Sansa could tell that Sam was knelt down, seeing to her head, members of the crowd were muttering words of worry or simply drinking in the minor spectacle and Jon was....well, Jon seemed unable to move or speak.

It was an odd feeling, Sansa realised, looking down at her own limbs, limp from unconsciousness. Not at all like regarding your own reflection in a mirror.

"Can someone help me put her in the recovery position?" Sam's voice echoed a little fuzzily around her mind, her focus still on the curious image of herself and the proximity of Jon.

A man knelt down and grasped her leg, preparing to aid Sam as he had asked - and it seemed to jolt Jon out of his daze. 

"Don't touch her!" he barked loudly at the stranger, blindly handing both dog leashes to someone in the crowd and almost shoving the unknown good Samaritan over.

"Whoa!" Sam exclaimed to his friend with an expression of confusion. "Easy Jon! He's only trying to help!"

"No one touch her" Jon snapped as he knelt down beside his friend and Sansa's body. Sansa watched as his hand stretched out tentatively towards her shoulder, only to close and pull away, as if he were afraid.

For what seemed like countless minutes, all he seemed to do was watch her breathe, his own breath puffing out into the cold.

"Jon?...Jon?" It was only then that Sansa realised that Sam must have been saying something.

"Hmm?" she heard Jon respond to his friend, his head tilting a fraction although his eyes never left her.

"I said do you know her?"

"She's....she's my...."

Sansa's vision blurred and her head began to thump with an ache. Her mind seemed to chase away the numbness in her body as she felt her fingers twitch and a groan build in her chest. She blinked open her eyes although it took a few seconds for them to focus.

"Sansa" she heard him breathe near her.

_Jon._

The scene before her cleared but all she saw was his dark eyes and hair pulled back on his head. His mouth hung open in Ann awe-struck manner as he took her in and awaited her words. Behind him were the glittering lights from the procession candles and the strings of bulbs overhead - all of them a little fuzzy against the dark and her sole focus on him - _only him, only Jon._  Sansa sat up slowly, only a little aware of Sam's hovering hands, urging her to take it easy.

"Hello......Sansa" he rasped quietly with a gulp.

"Jon!" she let out in a single uncontrollable sob, suddenly launching herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her face in his shoulder, knocking him onto the ground in the process.

 _Finally, FINALLY,_ she thought, at the realisation of _who_ she was with, _who_ she was holding - _touching_ - after all these years.

"Sansa" he whispered into her hair, his breath hot on her neck as his arms wound around her middle. "Sansa" he repeated with a laugh of joyous disbelief that she felt rumble from his chest as he tightened his hold on her.

She pulled back with the aim of looking at him - _really_ looking at him - but that didn't happen, before she knew it, her lips had crashed into his, her eyes screwed shut and her body moving forwards whilst Jon fell back - back down onto the cold wet path, taking her with him.

Sansa heard an 'oooff' sound as she fell atop him and quickly pulled away from him lips. "I'm sorry! That....that was a bit forward of me considering we've never actually me-" Jon swallowed her words by cupping her face with two gloved hands and bringing her back down to him to capture her lips again. He felt like electricity and he tasted like mint. His kiss started sweetly but no less needy, and soon his tongue slipped into her mouth making them both groan and clutch onto one another tightly.

Someone cleared their throat loudly, followed by the unmistakable shriek of her little sister _"Sansa! What I’m Seven Hells are you doing?!"_

Pulling apart from one another, but not able to take their eyes off of each other, both Jon and Sansa stood, chuckling softly and wiping their clothes free of debris with their hands. The air seemed to fizz and crackle as Jon plucked a single red weirwood leaf from Sansa's hair before someone cleared their throat yet again. Finally, Sansa managed to peel her eyes away from him.

"Hello Sam" she smiled brightly at Jon's friend. Sansa felt breathless and her cheeks hurt a little from both the biting cold and the wide grin she wore.

"Have...have we met?" Sam asked, looking a little befuddled.

Sansa glanced back to Jon before stepping forward and grasping Sam's hand in both of hers, completely ignoring an aghast looking Arya, Gendry and the remainder of the procession crowd. "No" she beamed, shaking his hand "no, we've never met before...but now we have!" she laughed.

************

**JON SNOW**

It was like a dream. The best kind of dream. The kind of dream that you instantly want to revisit once you wake and figure out that none of it was real. Except it _was_ real, _she_ was real, and she was there - _right there_ \- stood next to him as her sister, Gendry and Sam made idle chit-chat where they stood surrounded by candlelight and magic.

Sansa kept glancing at him to find him staring at her, but he couldn't find it in himself to feel embarrassed. _She was there -_   _right there._ He only need lean slightly over and their shoulders would bump. He only need reach across and he could sweep the snow from her coat lapel or ghost a finger ever so lightly over the soft skin of her cheek...

_...or her lips._

His gaze fell to her mouth once more and he wondered if the smile she held there that beamed towards their companions was as forced as his was right now? He didn't want to be standing around talking to anyone who wasn't her - wasn't _Sansa._

 _She's polite,_ he thought. _She's always been polite._

Jon wondered if she could feel it too? The crackle of tension hanging in the air - the need to steal her away and say everything all at once and nothing at all. He could still taste her on his tongue, he could still smell the curious scent of citrus and sun lotion from her skin. _Oh Gods!_ He was going to burst if he couldn't get her on her own soon. His eyes were drawn to her lips once more.

 _I don’t want to share her,_ he thought, desperate to be alone with her.

Sansa discreetly reached her gloved hand for his and his heart nearly pounded right out of his chest. "Is this alright?" she whispered as the others seemed distracted by the remainder of the procession and talking amongst themselves, their voices getting lost on his ears along with the rest of the world.

"Yes" he replied, the word falling out and feeling like relief as his head bobbed up and down in emphatic agreement.

Sansa giggled and pulled her hand away, only to return it to his without the glove. Their fingers laced together as they both studied their joined hands. "This..." Sansa started, looking back up at him, her bright blue eyes shining "...this just  _feels_ right” she whispered nervously.

Jon reached up to brush off some dirt from her fall that still marred her cheek. "It does" he agreed, his thumb continuing to stroke her soft skin even though the fine grit was now long gone. He watched intently as her cheeks turned the prettiest shade of pink.

**********

"You did all this hoping I'd see it?" Jon asked once they'd made it back to Sansa's apartment, finally getting her alone. They had walked comfortably hand-in-hand the whole way and now Jon stood in front of her refrigerator, which had various post-it notes stuck on with contact details and her brightly coloured plastic letter magnets arranged to spell out her full name.

 _Sansa Stark,_ Jon recited.

"Yes" she smiled bashfully, handing him a glass of wine. "My friends all thought I was nuts."

They both snickered, stood together in her small kitchen. The noise died quickly as their eyes fixed one another again. Jon felt his pulse thumping in his ears as that fizz and crackle that never left only intensified. He'd almost made up his mind to lean over and kiss her again when she sucked in a sudden breath and took a step back before talking.

"I'd....better get out of these wet clothes" she stuttered nervously, pointing with her thumb in the direction of what Jon suspected was her bedroom. He smiled and nodded.

 _If only_ , he thought as he fingered one of the notes on the fridge after she’d left.  _If only I'd seen any of this sooner._

He glanced around the room, not really recognising too much from his blackouts - what with them seeming to taper off in the past few years. There was the odd bit of furniture or ornament that he'd seen in quick flashes before though - the thought of being able to touch them now, an odd but compelling one - the thought of being able to touch Sansa now, a thrilling and electrifying one.

He was standing looking up at what was surely one of her paintings, the use of bright complimentary colours seeming to be something of a signature in her work. Sansa cleared her throat as she came back into the room. Jon turned and swore that half the blood in his body rushed to his groin.

She was stood with a pale pink, oversized soft woollen sweater and not much else on. Jon supposed that she may be wearing sleep shorts or some such too, and he very dearly would like to find out.

"Wow" he breathed, his eyes unable to stop from raking over her long slender legs where she stood with her ankles crossed demurely. "Uh - I mean - sorry-" Jon awkwardly rubbed at his neck, feeling like his brain had been left somewhere back along Weirwood Walk.

"Um, _'wow'_ is good" she said quietly "I'll take your ' _wow_ '" she smiled.

"It's yours."

They started grinning at each other then, standing at opposite sides of Sansa's living room, neither of them really knowing what to do or say next, only knowing that so far, everything has felt _'right'_.

"Oh hey-" Jon said, clearing his throat and trying to cleanse his thoughts from how he so dearly wanted to throw Sansa down on that plump couch and cover her body with his. "- I have something for you" he commented, his hand delving into his jacket pocket to retrieve the wrapped watercolour paint set.

"For me?" 

Jon rubbed his hands down his thighs as he sat next to Sansa on her sofa, watching nervously as she untied the purple ribbon and tore open the gold wrapping paper.

"Oh" she said. It hadn't been the reaction he had hoped for.

"Are they the wrong kind of paints?" he asked, licking his lips "I can swap them if you-"

"No-no!" Sansa interrupted with a small smile "They're perfect Jon. It's just-" she turned the tin over in her hands, staring down at it in thought "I saw....I saw what this did...I saw the argument you had with Val."

That jolted an unpleasant shock down his spine. "You did?"

"Yes, and I'm so sorry Jon. I-"

"Don't be" he reached over and stilled her hands as they fiddled with the paint set. Her skin felt warm and soft but no less electric. "Val and I would never have worked out."

"You don't know that" she whispered in a cracked voice.

"I do. How could it have?"

"You kept it all this time" Sansa said, still staring at the paints in her hands.

"I did."

"What things did you see?" Sansa asked, placing the paints down on the coffee table and angling her body to finally look at him.

"I saw you fight with Arya a lot" he grinned. Sansa rolled her eyes. "I saw....I saw that you had to take a pregnancy test after your first time with Harry."

She groaned and flung herself back into the sofa, her hands flying over her face to attempt to conceal her embarrassment. "Urrrgh! Noooo!! I was so stupid back then!"

Jon leant over and pried her hands away from her face "No you weren't" he said, his pulse jumping at how close they were now - his eyes flickered to her lips, he only need lean down a fraction and he could-  

"What else?" Sansa rasped softly.

"I...I saw you at Karhold - at the festival."

Sansa smiled fondly at that. "That was a good weekend."

Jon's tongue rolled out to wet his lips as he was unable to tear his eyes away from hers. "Yeah."

Outside the snow came down in flurries, but there, on Sansa's couch, with his hands wrapped around her delicate wrists at either side of her head, her sparkling blue eyes seeing everything he ever was, ever could be and ever will be, Jon felt nothing but a delicious warmth spread across his chest. "Sansa...can I-?" He didn't get to ask. Sansa had answered him by stretching up and pressing those maddening lips of hers to his. Jon groaned and shifted them both so that Sansa was lying back on the sofa. Positioning himself on top of her, he blindly tried to rid himself of his jacket, never once breaking the sweet press of his lips to hers. She tasted like the hot chocolate.

Sansa broke the kiss momentarily to sigh "it just feels right" quietly in his ear. Jon groaned in agreement, not really knowing if she was commenting to him or herself as she wrapped her long legs around his waist.

"I saw you go to the beach to collect shells" he murmured into her skin as his mouth moved to the slope of her neck and his hand reached down to run along the smooth skin of her thigh. Sansa hummed pleasantly like a purring cat.

"I saw you fall off your bike and break your arm" she huffed, spearing her fingers through his hair.

Jon suddenly reared up from her. "I saw you meet with that creep pretending to be me" he growled. "I wanted to kill him."

Sansa looked a little startled at the memory and Jon cursed himself for perhaps saying the wrong thing. He glanced down at her leg in his grasp and saw her wolf tattoo. His thumb began to stroke the art of its own volition.

"Oh" he said, straightening up and unbuckling his belt "I've got something I want to show you."

"I bet you do" Sansa replied cheekily, her eyebrows raised as she propped herself up on her elbows, watching him pop the buttons on his jeans.

"No" he chuckled "not that."

"I've already seen it anyway” she teased with a smirk.

Jon stilled his hands and looked back up at her. "You have?"

Sansa nodded. "Have...have you seen...me?"

Jon was unable to stop his eyes from darting down to her still clothed breasts. "Ummm..."

"You have!" Sansa exclaimed, unnecessarily covering herself with her hands.

"Well it's not like I could have looked away" Jon protested with amusement. 

"Would you have? - Looked away, I mean...if you could?"

He furrowed his brow before answering. "I feel like that's an incredibly incriminating question."

"How so?"

"Well" Jon leant back down to pluck a kiss from her lips. "If I say 'no - I wouldn't look away' - I'd be branded a pervert" he moved down her jaw and started swirling his tongue below her earlobe making Sansa sigh sinfully "But if I say 'yes - I would look away' - you'll think I don't want to see you."

"So which is it?" Sansa gasped, her back arching up into him.

Jon groaned and started sucking on her neck as she tugged at his curls. "Pervert. I'm definitely a pervert" he decided out loud.

Sansa chuckled and allowed him to taste her neck for a little while longer, plucking moans and sighs from her throat before she yanked a little harder on his hair. "Weren't you going to show me something, pervert?" She asked, her flushed cheeks framing a sly grin.

The red mark on his leg matched perfectly with the size and shape of her wolf. "Did it hurt?" she asked, tracing the outline delicately with a drag of her fingertips.

Jon tried and failed to suppress a shudder that ran through his body at her deliciously slow and gentle touch. "It stung at first, and then it was a bit itchy. But then nothing."

"I'm sorry" Sansa offered softly, her fingers leaving the mark and brushing higher and higher up his thigh, his own thumb encouragingly sweeping back and forth across her leg in his grasp. Sansa's hand stilled when she'd obviously noticed the strain in his boxers.

"We don't have to-" Jon croaked, prompting Sansa to tear her eyes away from his clear arousal and look him in the eye.

"It feels right" she said in a voice close to a scratched whimper. Jon could only nod in agreement as he sank back down to taste her again.

Sansa's little lounge was bathed in low, warm light emanating from the one lamp that she'd turned on - a pleasant contrast to the biting cold and silent snowfall outside her window. Everything about Sansa felt close and intimate, Jon never wanted to leave this room - the room that was soon filled with the sounds of lips and tongue and teeth. Moans and gasps from throat and chest as they moved together, grinding against one another, hands consciously trying to map out the contours, dips and swells of their bodies. Sansa started tugging his boxers down his hips.

"Just push them aside" she sighed on a whisper once Jon tried to do the same with her little cotton sleep shorts.

He'd wanted to enter her slow, but his own traitorous hips refused to comply as he pushed inside her with a single thrust. Their eyes were locked on to one another, their mouths sharing a gasp.

She felt so _good_. She felt so _right_. She felt like up until this moment, he'd been denied something as vital as water and he was only just now able to drink.

Sansa stared up at him as he stilled over her and Jon's euphoria shattered painfully when he watched tears escape and roll down her temple.

"Sansa? Did I hurt you?" he panicked.

She shook her head. "No...I...it's always felt like-" she swallowed down her tears and took a breath "it's always felt like I was waiting to start my life properly, you know? Like I couldn't properly _live_ until-" her choked words died upon her lips as Jon laced his finger with hers, holding on to her tightly.

"No more waiting" he murmured.

Sansa smiled up at him, her eyes still glassy, "No more waiting."

 

****** - EPILOGUE - ******

**Exactly one year later....**

Sansa stood under the wrought iron gates of Weirwood Walk. The snow had fallen thicker this year and already covered the ground and dusted the trees as it continued to float down gently in the cool night air.

"Ready?" her father asked, squeezing her hand as it linked around his arm.

"Yes" she beamed, clutching her little candle tightly. 

Everything felt incredibly still despite the flutter of snow and the murmur of well wishers who lined the pathway on either side.

_"You look beautiful!"_

_"Congratulations!",_ they offered as Ned and his eldest daughter passed them by. Sansa nodded and thanked them.

He ducked his head to her as they walked "it's not too late to run, you know" he joked, patting her hand and gazing over her fondly.

Sansa shook her head and chuckled, trying to take the time to appreciate the glow of the candles and the strings of lights illuminating their way from tree to tree.

 _I must commit this to memory,_ she thought, trying to ignore the storm of butterflies in her stomach.

"Are you sure you don't want to put your coat back on, love?" Ned asked, looking suspiciously at her bare shoulders as soft flakes of snow kissed and melted there.

"Yes, I'm sure" she smiled "do you know how much this dress cost? I want him to see me in it!"

Ned snorted. "Aye. I'm aware of the cost. Painfully aware" he mock grumbled, making both of them laugh.

Sansa's heart began to thump wildly in her chest and she forgot the cold altogether as they began to near the Heart Tree, it's red leaves welcoming them.

They reached the end of the walk lined by Dragon Lights procession members with their candles and good cheer. An aisle had been crafted by positioning white fold out chairs either side of their designed path. The way forward was dotted with candles flickering inside glass containers on the ground, their light making the snow underfoot glitter.

Sansa took a deep breath as all their guests turned to see her, but all she saw was Jon, stood waiting for her beneath the Heart Tree.

 _This just feels right_ , Sansa thought, taking that first step.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ummmm....so was that ok? Are you all going to stop hating on me now? I hope none of you choked on the amount of fluff I shoved in your faces!
> 
> BONUS - on the honeymoon, Jon feels nauseous and puts it down to eating something spicy - only to then figure it all out when Sansa shakes her head and places his hand on her stomach with a smile.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on tumblr to say hi! @amymel86

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Written in the Stars](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15223700) by [Olpgurl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Olpgurl/pseuds/Olpgurl)




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